Pack Light
by Tyler Marcoz
Summary: He found her annoying, but, there was something there, something she sparked in him. She said she'd follow him anywhere. So, he let her follow, unaware of the changes it would trigger in more then just them, and not all for the better. SasuSaku, NaruHina.
1. Part 1 Prologue: Reunion

He was running again, faster than he had ever run in his entire life. That light at the end of the tunnel pulled him stronger with each passing moment. Naruto knew they were there in that light. He knew he would find them there. He did not know how he knew, nor did it matter. All he knew was that he had to get there. And that meant he had to run faster, and then faster still. So he did. He ignored the acidic burn in his legs as he pushed them. It was a distraction he could not afford. No, he had to get there. He had to find them. He had to run.

He had to find them there.

And so he was running towards that light. It burnt his eyes, but he did not stop or slow. He charged through the swirling dust that remained from the blast, causing wisps of it to curl up in the bright sunlight. He could see Sai there, standing at the center of what had apparently been a decent chunk of the facility. It was impossible to tell what sort of place the room was used for now.

Naruto realized that Sai was staring up at something. But his feet were moving faster than his brain. They carried him into the center of the room. He came to a skidding halt right before hitting Sai. Naruto hadn't even enough time to say a single thing before a voice from the past spoke to him.

"Naruto." it said, soft and trailing. He turned, then, to see what it was that his new teammate had been staring at, but part of him already knew. After all, he knew that voice. He would remember it anywhere.

Naruto did not notice as Hinata came rushing in behind him, nor her saying his name as she did. He did not notice as she turned to look at what he and Sai were staring at, nor did he notice her shock when she saw them. He noticed none of this because he was focused on them instead.

He was taller, now; the first thing that came to his mind. The hair and the face, they were the same in so many ways and yet different as well. It was an older face, harsher too. There was only the barest hints of emotion in his eyes, a subtle sense of subdued disapproval. Naruto had seen that expression many times before. One of Sasuke's hands rested on the hilt of a sword that was tucked into his rope belt. He wore a loose white robe, along with a set of deep navy pants and undershirt. He wore armored boots and gauntlets to match the light plating on other sections of his outfit. But what surprised Naruto the most was a certain Konoha hitae-ite with a scratch carved through the middle that hung from Sasuke's neck.

But Sasuke hadn't said anything at all. No, it had been Her.

Sakura was taller too; and beautiful. He'd always thought she had been beautiful, and time hadn't changed that at all. Her hair was long, hanging down past her waist. She wore the same soft cherry red he remembered, but the color was the only remnant of that old outfit. She wore a sort of high-collared sleeveless coat or blouse now, with white fur around the collar and a sash around her waist that reminded Naruto uncomfortably of the one worn by Orochimaru's right hand man. It flowed down into a knee-length side-slit skirt, with a white miniskirt under that. But what stood out from her outfit the most was what she lacked; she had no hitae-ite or marker of any sort.

While Sasuke's expression spoke of almost disinterest, Sakura's was not so reserved. Naruto recognized that expression, because he'd seen it many times and made it himself as well; it was an expression of pain. A deep wound that neither technique nor medicine could heal; a wound to the heart, and the pain of the soul.

"Sasuke. Sakura" Naruto said softly, slowly mulling over each syllable. He had been about to say something more when the other voice from his past interrupted him. The voice of the man he considered a brother.

"You shouldn't have come, Naruto." Sasuke said with a tone of finality and conviction. It was said with such a degree of authority that, for the briefest of moments, Naruto believed it too. But that thought was replaced with a storm of other emotions. The Konoha shinobi couldn't even begin to scratch the surface of what he was feeling. He looked down for the briefest of moments, overwhelmed.

It was Hinata's voice that brought him back. She said his name again, and this time it registered somewhere in his mind. His eyes snapped open and turned back up to look a his old teammates, budding tears forming as he did. Sasuke had seemed momentarily amused by this, as though he saw something far more than had been displayed.

"Why, then?" he asked. His fists began to clench, but his voice never managed to escape it's weak and low tremble.

"Why did you leave me alive, then? You knew I'd come."

Sasuke said nothing for a long moment. His expression was unchanging, even when he finally spoke. It was not the answer Naruto expected in the least.

"Because she asked me to." he said. Naruto's face twisted into an unknown emotion, as if his mind was unable to choose between sorrow and rage. Was that it? She had asked Sasuke not to kill him? What he hell did that mean?

Hinata's byakugan activated on a reflex, but even with it she was only able to catch the tail end of Sasuke's sudden movement. It was fast. Faster than she'd ever seen before. Faster than she thought was possible. Neither Neji-niisan, or Kurenai-sensei, or even her father. He seemed to almost disappear, and then was suddenly standing right next to Naruto, right next to him in fact, with one hand still resting on the hilt of his sword. She took a step back in reflexive shock before scolding herself. Sasuke spoke before she could say a word.

"Your dream of becoming hokage. I let you keep that, didn't I? That is still your dream, isn't it?" Sasuke said, tone of subtle humor seeping through the words. What caught Naruto was that it was not a mocking tone. Sasuke was not disbelieving, even if he was laughing in his own way. He simply stood in place, barely inches apart from Sasuke, eyes fixed forward.

"Shouldn't you be training, than, instead of chasing us?"

"How can someone be hokage if they can't save their own friends?" he said, face now holding an alien blankness. It was not normal for a face as emotive as his to be so blank and that did not escape the notice of both Hinata and Sakura. Finally, Naruto looked up at Sakura, locking his eyes with hers.

"What do you think, Sakura? Can someone like that really be hokage?" he asked, causing her to flinch. The response was quick, but not from her. The slow grind of steel echoed through the ruins.

"Well, in that case." Sasuke said with a bit more bite, "Perhaps I should put your out of your misery, than."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, just as the blade nearly left its scabbard. Sasuke's eyes flicked back for just a moment. And then Sasuke was gone, back to standing next to the long-haired kunochi he'd stolen away from Konoha when he left. She said something, almost too low for him to hear, but his brain pieced it together easy enough; she had told him thank you. Naruto felt some anger begin to bubble to the surface, feral thoughts trying to claw their way to the surface. Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder, and a wave of soothing seemed to fly through him. No, he wouldn't let that take over again.

"I'm sorry." he heard from Sakura, causing his face to harden for a moment. She was sorry?

So was he.

* * *

_Three years before..._

Everything hurt.

Everything. Absolutely, and without a single exception, everything.

Naruto groaned as he clawed his way back into consciousness, an action that might have been, in retrospect, an extremely poor idea. Pain shot through his entire body, radiating out from the hole in his chest, largest of his wounds. It sent lines of pain throughout his body, hot and molten. Although the worst of it was lancing down the arm nearest to the wound and into his gut there was pain through his entire body, but it was pain of another sort. Whereas the chest wound and the lines that traced from it were more like searing burns, the pain that worked its way in between this was that of steady throbbing, lower intensity but more constant. It was surprising he could recognize the differences at all, and given that he had it was little surprise that Naruto's other cognitive functions were hardly better off.

For the life of him, he couldn't think of where he was; his vision was blurry and indistinct. He did not see his bandaged form, nor the lines connected to his body. He did not see the peculiar seal that was inked above the worst of his wounds, smaller lines of seals trailing off from it; medical fuuinjutsu. He did not see the IV tubes linked into his body, nor the various tracking monitors that beeped softly, yet showed that the young boy was hardly out of the woods yet. And, most of all, he did not see the young, pale-eyed girl who had spent the last few hours simply sitting, watching, crying, and waiting; the medical staff hadn't seen a need to remove her, given their pressed nature. They hadn't the heart, either.

Naruto's mind raced as he attempted to remember why there was so much pain, but the answers consistently eluded him. He remembered pain; not like the searing or throbbing pains he felt in his body, but a different sort of pain, one of the heart. But where his body had been treated and bandaged to the best of the Konoha medical center's ability, this pain was deeper, and there wasn't a single treatment that the doctors and medical-nin could supply to sooth it.

The chase was what came to his mind next. Yet another sort of burning pain. His legs had been burning from the pursuit of something very important to the young genin. Naruto was not alone in this, he knew. There were others with him, pushing just as hard; four others, in fact. Then three of them, and then two; the group had grown smaller and smaller, until there was just Naruto. He remembered pushing on, chasing something. No, not something, but someone. Wait, no, that wasn't right either; it was someones. Two someones, people close and precious to him.

Who were they? Pain shot through his head, adding yet another sort to his symphony of agony. Perhaps a bit too melodramatic, but arguably accurate; each of the pains had their own melody and rhythm. They drowned out his thoughts, attempting to pull him back into the black void of unconsciousness. The pain would fade slightly as he drifted back, and he was contented to let it take him. Was being the operative word; a single name appeared in his mind, causing his eye shoot back open, alarms blaring as he began to attempt to sit up and move.

"Sas- Sasuke!" Naruto stumbled out, managing to get about half a foot or so off his bed until the pain truly registered again, causing him to arch his back as he spasmed. He collapsed back onto his hospital bed and into a heap. His breathing was coming in ragged gasps, and crimson spots were beginning to show on his white linens; clearly he'd moved far too suddenly and quickly, reopening some of his wounds in the process. Pain was spiking through him again, worse than before. Why was it so hard to breathe? He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think.

"N-Naruto-kun!" a soft voice said, drawing his attentions. Haze still covered his visions, making the figure fuzzy an indistinct; a girl, he could tell, bathed in a halo of white. It was beautiful he thought for a moment, distracted from the searing pains in his body for the briefest of moments. Her eyes shimmered, and he realized that she was crying for him. That seemed wrong, somehow; this angelic figure was crying. He didn't mean to make her cry.

"D-Don't worry." He muttered between gasps, struggling over the words, "Not gonna d-die just yet, angel. So don't w-"

He was unable to finish the sentence as the pain finally overwhelmed him, dragging him back into unconsciousness as figures rushed into his room. Hinata was pushed out of the way. She watched with tears streaming down her face as the boy whose smile saved her was dying.

* * *

**Author Note:  
**I rewrote this chapter as a start to rewrite the first half of Part 1, mostly. I was never pleased with the early chapters, feeling that they did not meet the standards I'd wanted. Some were short, others tended to be a bit silly, and all in all I just felt it was necessary to rewrite them and bring them up to grade. I actually cut a scene from the prologue, and it will be in the rewrite of Chapter 1.

As a result of the, there are some minor changes. Until it's all completed, there may be some minor inconsistencies with the early chapters, but nothing major, I hope.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 1: Loneliness of Company

_A few days prior..._

He was leaving, and he was leaving tonight. This very evening, no goodbyes or fair-thee-wells. They wouldn't let him go had they know, he knew that much. They could stop him too, probably, if not with words then with force. His will was only so strong, he knew. What they didn't wear down with pleas or threats, they could wear down with actions and fists. He would not let them stop him. So he would go tonight, and he would go silently. They would not catch him.

It was not optional, he knew. The choice was already made, made back when he made his vow. Back on that damned bloody night so long ago. It was a mandatory thing, very much required if he had any hopes of gaining the power he so desired. And that was all that mattered. He needed that power; he had to get it if he was to make his dreams into reality. No. They were not dreams. Dreams implied a certain hazy quality, mutable or deniable. Not a dream, but a reality. It was what would happen. He would make it so, however possible.

He had said so many times before. It seemed so long ago that they were meeting with Kakashi-sensai for the first time, sitting next to the loser and the annoying little girl who, like so many pathetic girls his age, fawned over him. He had stated his goals then, plainly and clearly. He hadn't really been sure why. It seemed like the right thing. No reason for secrets, there was no shame in his goal. It was, after all, a very certain thing. He would kill a certain someone, who he had rather purposefully left vague. And his clan, he remembered. He'd vowed to revive his clan.

He idly remembered how that second part had become a rather secondary thing ever since Itachi had entered his life again. Or rather, made it clear he had no desire to truly enter Sasuke's life, that Sasuke did not 'interest him.' His own brother, who had dedicated himself fully to the path of the avenger. Itachi had tossed him away, beaten him bloody, denigrated him and simply moved onto... _him._

The loser. The damn _loser._ The number one knuckled-headed ninja, as Kakashi always called him. The damnable bastard was more interested in a walking fluke then his own brother, a brother who had been shaped by his words? Sasuke's path in life was based upon Itachi. It was a disgrace, something that drove Sasuke nearly mad. He would show his brother, push his head down into the mud and snap his neck beneath his boot. He would make him see the mistakes he'd made. He _would._

And then he'd...

Revive his clan. A prospect that seemed... beyond him. It was so strange. Destroying his brother was an image, something he could envision. It was almost tangible to him. But his clan... he did not know. Perhaps he didn't care, or perhaps. He'd simply cross that bridge when he came to it. Sasuke had the first thing to focus on, anyway. After that... anything could be done. He would do it with his own two hands, brick by brick. He'd rebuild his clan upon the foundation of his brother's chilling corpse.

But his mind was wandering, never a good thing he'd found Steps. Small steps, all leading up to the final goal. First step? Leave.

Now.

And so he left.

* * *

He met her on the academy road. Despite himself, he was actually suprised to see her, even if he'd never let him on. He had to admit some sort of recognition, that she managed to figure out he was leaving. He knew why she was there, there was no other explanation that made even a bit of sense. But Sakura hadn't always made sense, had she? At least not to him. She was annoying in that way. Well, she was annoying many ways. A true multifaceted example of annoyance, actually. But still, that she had figured out his plans...

Well, let it never be said she wasn't smart.

Actually, he had to admit that while she lacked the practical knowledge that he had, let alone what even the loser could bring to the table, she always had a certain element of book smarts too her. She was doing herself a disservice, in a way, always chasing after him. She could have been so much more. But she squandered herself. What's more, for all her potential and intelligence, she never saw that her fawning was exactly the reason he would not ever pick her. He respected strength, not flattery.

The conversation was... expectant. He had no ill will towards her, in truth. How could he? She was his teammate and, thought he'd never admit it out loud, his friend. And she had, from time to time, impressed him with her determination, small signs she might have finally been uncovering her hidden potential. But she was never going to be like him, and he was never going to be like her. That friendship, and 'the team,' was doomed from the start. His path was one neither Naruto or Sakura could even imagine, let alone walk.

He kept his back turned to her as she spoke. He wasn't sure why he did that...

She said she knew that he must hate her, something that made him wonder if that was truly how he acted. He knew he didn't hate her, any more then he hated the blond loser. He hadn't enough hate for them anyway; he had no hate to waste on trivial people like that. His brother was all he truly hated, and all he could bring himself to hate. He couldn't dillute that feeling with trivialities. But if it's what she thought, he'd let her. He was leaving, there was no need to change her mind. Perhaps she'd learn to use her perceived hate like he was.

He doubted it.

She told him of that day, right here in this place, so very long ago. He'd told her his opinion of her then, an opinion that had not really changed at all. Annoying, he'd called her. How true that was, then and now. He told her he didn't remember that.

He was lying.

She recounted how she'd felt on all those missions, big and small. On the thought of spending time with him. On learning, and growing. She didn't want to lose that.

He didn't know why he spoke back to her, trying to make her understand why he couldn't follow the same path as she or Naruto did. He had no idea why he was telling her that he too thought he could walk that path once. But he had made up his mind that he couldn't, not after what he'd seen about Naruto's growth, not about what he'd seen with Itachi's indifference. He didn't have time to play around here any more. He was losing himself slowly, and he would not let that happen.

That happiness was not his own. It was false, an illusion that only made him weaker. His path was different. His path was revenge.

So why did he feel this way, then? To say these things hurt him, somewhere deep inside that he couldn't imagine or see. He couldn't understand why in the least. He'd chosen this path, and he was walking it. He had his hate, and his anger. A lonely path, but one he would walk willingly if it gave him a chance of crushing his brother. So why did it hurt so much? He hadn't even an inkling that when he spoke, he wasn't only talking to the annoying pink-haired girl who was do desperate to stop him. He was talking to the little boy in him, that wide-eyed kid from before. He was trying to convince himself as much as he was convincing her.

"Don't do this, Sasuke, you don't have to be alone." she said, and he wanted to snap back that it wasn't true. He did have to be alone. Right? That was this path...

"You told me that day how painful solitude can be." she said, and he wanted to tell that pain was something he was willing to live with if he could have his vengeance.

"I understand that pain now." she said, but how could that be what did she know of it?

"I have a family, and friends, but, if you were gone, Sasuke, it would be the same thing for me. As being all alone."

To be surrounded, and yet be alone. It was a strange thing, and yet how real he it was. It was a stretch to say that he was truly alone, even after the death of his clan. Well-wishers, exploiters, and kind souls, they flocked to him. Truthful or not, their desire to help did not bring an end to the loneliness he felt. That crushing solitude he felt, and was all too familiar.

In a way, he was closer to Sakura then he was Naruto, in that way. Naruto had no one now, but he never had anyone either. He knew a pain different from Sasuke's pain, which was a pain of loss and betrayal. Naruto's was a different sort. A pain of true solitude, a pain of rejection. But he could not miss what he did not have, and so he could not feel that pain. The pain of losing something, a part of your very being, and feeling so empty inside. Sakura... was she feeling that pain, too? That hollow feeling that haunted every step? Was it possible she was more like him then he had ever thought? He had not ever truly considered that, and he did not know why he considered it now. He couldn't consider those things.

He told her to stay out of his business. It was forceful, hiding the plea that he was actually making. Please stop, Sakura. Stop or...

"This is a new beginning. Each of us has a new path lying before us." he said, and this time it was more certain he was speaking to himself, not to her. He had to go, he had to leave this place now. He couldn't be shackled by her words. He had to...

"Sasuke! I'm so in love with you I can't even stand it!"

...leave...

"If you would only be with me, I promise, I'd never let you regret it."

...right away...

"Every day would be a joy. I can give you happiness! I'd do anything for you, Sasuke, so please!"

...or else...

"I'm begging you, don't walk away!"

...he never would be able to walk away. He was on his path, there was no changing. She was not going to get in his way.

"I'll even help you get your revenge! I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, I swear!" she said. He could hear her tears, he could feel them running through him like a river, erroding away at his resolve. He was not going to let that wash out his path.

"So stay here... with me... and if you can't... Take me with you, Sasuke." she finished. Her voice was low, and once again the silence of the night took them. How troublesome this girl was, what a true and complete pain. He spoke without hesitation, turning to face her for the first time. He grinned his practiced grin, an expression he could conjure up at a moments notice.

"You haven't changed. You're still annoying." he said, telling the blatant and complete truth. She was the most annoying thing in the world. She was not supposed to be able to do that to him. He had to go. He forced himself to move, one foot in front of the other.

"Don't leave me!"

She was chasing him now, that same frantic tone returning to her voice. "If you go, I'll scream and-"

He was behind her. He had always been faster then her, faster then almost anyone in their generation. Even if she hadn't been so emotionally wrecked, she would not have seen it, but her eyes went wide all the same. He stood in silence, contemplating his words. She had such power over him that she didn't even know, and that he so loathed to admit. Perhaps she had an inkling of it, which is why she fought so hard for him. Or perhaps it was simple dedication, or fear, or something else that he couldn't know or understand. But she had a part of him, and he could not reject that.

That power he craved even bowed to her. He awoke from that horrible state, when he'd first received the power of the Cursed Seal from Orochimaru. He had let it wash over him, embracing the anger. But why was he so angry? What was it he was seeking vengeance for? He hadn't realized till much later that it was Sakura. He'd asked her who had harmed her, who had dared to touch her. And he had let that anger wash over him, and nearly tore the bastard's arms right off. She had given him a power, in her own way. And then...

She had taken it away. The tears he shed now, those were the same tears she shed when she had thrown herself at him, begging him to stop. And those tears washed the anger out of him.

"Sakura..." he said, slowly... deliberately. "Thank you for everything."

Silence reigned for a short time, nothing but the slow chirp of cicadas and the ruffling of leaves in the wind. He could hear their heartbeats. His so slow, hers so fast. He pressed against her, eyes closed, and he whispered.

"Pack light. Fifteen minutes, at the gate... or I'll leave you behind."

And then he was gone.

She was rushing, a miraculously avoiding waking her parents. That would have been the death knell to this, she knew. She had to go, she was running out of time. But... she couldn't leave them with nothing. Her penmanship was likely atrocious, but she scribbled out the note all the same. She lost herself, trying to explain why she had done what she had done. It was not until she had finished that she realized her mistake. She frantically rushed back, pushing herself as hard as possible to reach that gate.

She arrived twenty-one minutes later. The tears were running down her face as she whispered. "I'm sorry..." more to herself then anything...

"You're late." he said, frowning at her from a tree. "Let's go."

And they were gone.


	3. Part 1, Chapter 2: Self Reasoning

They had not spoken for three days. It was a calculated thing, reasoning different for both parties but with the same end result. They were here, running and leaping into unknown territory in silence. He led, she followed. She was not upset at that.

Sakura did not know what to say, not after what she'd seen. She had seen her friends and comrades fighting to catch up with them, reaching out to take them back. She couldn't allow that, not now that she'd finally given up that life for what her heart told her she wanted. No, what it told her she needed. She had regrets, but everyone did, she told herself. She regretted having to leave so quickly, and being unable to say a true goodbye to all the people she knew she had hurt. But she did not regret going with him. She would not, and could not, regret that. Because in the end, regardless of what happened, regardless of what she became for him... he had said yes.

And he had waited.

She loved him. She loved him with all her heart, and all her soul, and all her body. She loved him with everything she was, everything she could be, and everything she wanted to be. That had not changed, not even when he saw him fighting with that power, or becoming a monster she barely recognized. But something about him, a pang of her heart, always could tell. Even when he had become something else, she loved him. She wondered if she should hate herself for that, for the fact that even as he became something monstrous, she could not help but love him more.

Sakura looked at him, charging off ahead. He did not look back at her, and she took that as a sign that he knew she'd follow. Her mind, or perhaps her heart, would not allow for other options. She pushed herself off another branch, drawing on everything she was to keep up with him. He was so amazing, keeping the pace he was even after that fight.

That horrible fight.

She had watched, hidden away, as her closest friends became monstrous. Sakura had never imagined the power Naruto had locked inside of him, terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time. She could not help but ponder it's origins. She knew where Sasuke had gained his, but Naruto was something else entirely. She wondered if she would ever be able to look at him the same way. She doubted it. Part of her wondered how she could have such a double standard, to see Sasuke in only greater light and yet Naruto as... something else. Something she didn't know as well as she'd thought, to say the least.

She watched Naruto fighting with fist, and guts, and tooth, and nail. Fighting for Sasuke, his best friend and strongest bond, and for Sakura, his...

What was she to Naruto? He had been unclear on that subject, even as he fought and argued with Sasuke over the bonds he'd formed. Was she his friend? She supposed that much was sure, but what did he honestly think of her? He chased her, in a way, trying to woo her and win her over. But why did he do that? It was, in a way, flattering, but at the same time so very annoying. She used to think he was out to get in her way, just purposefully getting between her and Sasuke. But she had learned better. She was smart, they'd always told her. Too smart sometimes...

She thought of what he'd said, about how he longed for acknowledgment, about how Sasuke gave him that in a very unique way. They had fed off each other, and in a small way she realized that Naruto was just like she was. They both were frantically searching for approval and acknowledgment, and she had been the girl he'd chosen. Naruto did not understand love, she realized. He did not understand romance, either. He was an outsider, for reasons she still didn't understand, and had never had a chance to learn the proper or improper ways of things. No family, no friends.

He was attention starved, which explained so much about him. But...

She wondered, then, if that feeling people got when they first saw him and how he acted. The inhuman way they looked at him, as thought he was something else. It was the uncanny valley; they saw something unnerving and almost imitative, as though he was desperately trying to be human in the only ways he knew, and yet somehow it still inspired revulsion in their eyes. Was that it? Or was that the wrong way around. Had that caused the revulsion and rejection, or been symptom of it. Had that been caused, and as a result made the entire situation even worse?

A small inkling of truth lurked behind her thoughts, a too brilliant mind piecing together scattered hints like a puzzle with no instructions. She had seen him in a way that very few other people had, and had even less contact. She'd been close to him for so long, and collected so many pieces that a picture was beginning to form. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was.

Sakura brought her mind back to current things, such as making sure she didn't make a fool of her self in front of Sasuke. The last thing she needed was for him to rethink his actions and leave her behind. But...

For some reason, she found that a hollow worry. Something told her that it didn't matter, he would stop for her. Wait for her.

He already had once.

* * *

Sasuke's silence was both similar and completely different then that of his companion's. He was deep in thought all the same, and about a strangely similar subject. But he was doing so for an entirely different reason. He was examining himself, trying to understand why he had done what he had. There were so many things...

He'd spared Naruto, even though he had been told that was the way to power. The power that his brother had, a power that had given him the ability to destroy his entire clan, and Sasuke's entire life, in one night. A power to redefine existances, just as Itachi had done with Sasuke. He wanted that power, he couldn't deny. It was mouthwatering to him, as appealing as an seven-course meal to an Akimichi. But he hadn't done it, even when he had the chance.

Itachi had come to mind while he contemplated it, wondering if it was a lie or a trick, or if it actually was the blatant truth. But he was beginning to think he didn't care. He wasn't even sure he wanted to give his brother the satisfaction. That wouldn't be real power, even as much as he craved it. It would be power he'd stolen from Itachi. It wasn't from his hate, not really. But...

_She _had told him not to. She had shouted, and pleaded. She said he had won, that he didn't need to do anything more. He did not look at her, simply leaping off. Shouting out a simple command of "Let's go." and nothing more. She followed dutifully. She was good at that, at least.

He realized some time later that he was carrying something, and realized that it was his forehead protector, a gash cut through the center. The loser managed to scratch his hitae-ite, he remembered, at the last second. Something about that made him smile. He looked at it with a grin, and then put it back on. He realized it made him look like Itachi, but he had earned that gash. Or maybe... Naruto had earned it.

Sasuke decided he'd wear it, for that. Naruto had earned that much.

But other things came to mind, related to the pink-haired kunoichi who was following behind him. Her footfalls against the branches were light, a testament to her skill at chakra control. He could give her that, at least. She had the potential to be great. But that was unimportant. What was important was that she was behind him. Because he'd let her.

He'd said she could follow him. And he could not for the life of him remember why. It had seemed so good at the time, so logical and right. He had not thought about it, even as he sat there waiting for her, hidden in a tree. He had not thought of anything, really, other then that he was so very put off at how late she was. Just like Kakashi, he had thought. Perhaps not true, but at the time it was what he thought.

Strangely, he realized that he had not once actually thought about leaving without her. He did not know why that was.

He did not look back at her, not once. He knew she was behind him, and that was a strange thing. A trust he found so very strange. Something about how she was always chasing him, always right behind. He trusted that, and he needed no reassurance. But... yet again, he was unsure why.

He told himself that she would be useful, a reason he found to be rather fitting. Itachi had told him that severing all bonds was the way to power, and yet he found himself working with that strangely colored asshole who looked less-than-human. Sasuke was figuring out his own ways to power, and he was suddenly struck by the fact of how very useful Sakura could be. It was as good a reason as any, and he could at least convince himself that it was the real reason he brought her along. He did not like not knowing things, and so he found justification a refreshing change of pace.

Thoughts of her potential began to rise to the surface once more. She could be useful indeed, and so very dedicated. It was a bond that Itachi did not have (or so he thought, as thoughts of romance between the shark and his brother were not particularly good for his sanity.) She loved him, and he could use her. She would get what she wanted from him, and in return, he would have a tool.

This is what he told himself.

He pushed himself deeper into the forest. They were well beyond the Fire Borders now, and his mind had more important things to wonder about than the annoying girl behind him. For example, finding Orochimaru. That was something that suddenly became far more thought intensive since he had lost his escorts. But, something about the dull throb on his shoulder made him think that he didn't need to find Orochimaru at all.

Orochimaru would find him.

* * *

Everything hurt, still. But at the very least, it hurt a whole lot less than it did. Now, he felt as though he had only _been_ dipped in acid and set on fire, rather then the consistent feeling of having that actually happening. The difference was might seem minor, but after that torment he was more then happy for the change. He was fairly sure anyone else would agree with him, death sucked.

He was still stuck in bed, wrapped from head to toe in linens that made him look like a blond-headed mummy, or perhaps like that weird thing the one genin from thee Sand Village had been carrying around. Naruto didn't like bandages. They made him feel confined, and that was the last thing he wanted. He was a free spirit, dammit, he hated being tied down! But, at the very least, he was conscious, so that was a step in the right direction. Now he just had to get healed up, and get busy. He has a lot of work to do.

Naruto was also rather happy his world had gone from the hazy white to actual coherent shapes and colors. He began picking out shapes of the room, his brain matching them to what he'd seen before. He was somewhat relieved to find out that he hadn't actually gone to heaven, as if heaven looked like at all the time he was going to get a headache, and it seemed so very boring too. That had only reinforced the fact that he needed to get back to the business of not dying, as the last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of eternity stuck on some hazy white cloud.

And the damn fox would stick out like a sore thumb too. Naruto had gotten used to snubbing, but he didn't really think he could blame it if angels would have been less then thrilled about Naruto's passenger.

Angels. That brough this mind back as well. A silver-outlined form, voice soft, yet full of concern and fear. He could remember her expression, even if he couldn't remember her face, twisted in such a way that made Naruto very confused. He had seen that expression before only once, so very long ago it seemed. Back on that bridge, when Sasuke had been turned into a pin cushion and they all thought he had bought the farm. Sakura had that expression, he remembered. An expression of fear, but not fear for yourself... fear for losing something most precious to you.

He had written it off, in his drug and pain-induced haze, as just the sort of expression he'd expect on an angel watching someone die. That must suck, he felt. But that haze had left him, and with it an illusions about angels or someone actually giving him that look. He was surprised, really. Surprised that he was able to even think about Sasuke at all without his mind drifting to that failure. He'd done that many times, too many for him to count. Which, the bastard might have said, was only as many fingers he had, because he hadn't grasped the concept of toes yet.

Damn, even in his own imagination, Naruto couldn't help but get pissed off at that bastard.

But...

He sighed. He had failed. They had left him. Sasuke was chasing after power, and running right into a den of snakes to do it. And Sakura-chan... she was chasing after him like she always did. Always him, it was always about him. He shouldn't be surprised. In a way, he was pleased. It wasn't him, at least. They weren't running because him, even if they were running away from him. How strange a consolation that was, how twisted...

He shook his head to clear the thoughts, but then found himself returning back to the angel that had visited him that day. Who was she? Was her hair long or short? What was she wearing? His brain hurt as he tried to remember, but was unable to dredge anything out as a result. Only one thing stuck in his mind and, in his still only partially coherent mind, he was unable to make any connections with that thought.

Here eyes were beautiful orbs of silver and a sort of dull, no... _soft_ was a better term, yeah. Soft purple. Like the Lavender flowers he had been growing. They had been beautiful.

The eyes of an angel...

* * *

Hinata was hearing something she was very unused to hearing, sparing perhaps her sensai, Kurenai. But she was used to that, and while she was very much more sure of herself now, she still found herself in awe of the words that were coming from the hokage's mouth. The hokage, of all people. This was... so... something. She found herself unable to find a word for it at all. She felt... oh, what was that word. She was so hopeless...

"You did well, Hinata. I'm proud of you." the hokage had said, her arms laying across her desk. She was smiling. Hinata was reminded of Kurenai in that smile.

She mulled over the words for a moment, unsure of how to respond. She had done... well? The hokage herself was proud of her? Something swelled inside of her, causing her to blush. It was, in a way, her first reaction to all such strange things. She realized that she should respond, willing herself to speak so that she did not die of embarrassment.

"T-thank you, hokage-sama." she began, unsure of what else to add. There had to be something more she could say. "I... was just trying to help."

She wasn't at all sure why she had chosen those words. It was the truth, though, and that was something Kurenai had taught her, one of her sensai's many attempts to bring the eldest Hyuuga out of her shell. She told Hinata that, if she didn't know what to say, then to simply say the truth. What Kurenai had not told her was that this was something of a calculated risk on her part, but given how well she knew Hinata, she knew that she was so very nice that the chances of something _bad _being the truth to her would be one in a hundred, at best. Kurenai was a master of deception, something that extended beyond her skills with genjutsu, and in a way this was simply part of it.

Hinata might not have known it, but Kurenai was teaching her those same skills, abet in a vastly different manner.

The young girl had acted without much second thought. She had heard one of the nurses mutter something outside of Naruto's door. She had been at the hospital to, officially, check up on her cousin, as well as her teammate. Her father had no problem with those, even though she honestly found it strange to be asked at all, or to be back with the main Hyuuga compound at all. She was unsure what had been the reason, but her father had been rather adament that she return to the Hyuuga household after the chuunin exams. She had been reserved, even though she wanted to be overjoyed. Things were... odd between Hinata and her father, still. Frosty, but thawwing. he was acknowledging her in some small way, at least. But she was still as reserved as ever.

After checking up on Neji and Kiba, both of whom was recovering well, she went off to find the one she really and truly wanted to see. Neji had apologized for his behavior, and in many ways seemed like a changed person, which made her happy. But it was someone else who she most truly wanted to see, and who she most truly was worried for. She felt bad about, and knew Kurenai would say she was the only person who could feel bad about such things. But, at the same time, she would smile and say that was made Hinata so special. And Hinata would blush, and Kurenai would laugh.

She smiled at the thought, but that disappeared when she reached her destination. She heard the whispers, despite the attempt to keep it quite. They said there was just something wrong inside of Naruto, that he was not going to make it. That something was eating away. Hinata did not know exactly how she ended up in his room. But the next thing she knew, she was looking over him, watching him twitch and struggle. The tears were unstoppable, watching him like this. She watched him struggle to push himself up, muttering something too low for her to hear. Her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds as she watched him.

"N-Naruto! You're g-going to hurt y-yourself!" she had said, on reflex. Her stutter was more of fear then embarrassment now, fear that she was going to lose Naruto, something that made her feel so very strange. She hated it so very much. Her eyes went wide when he managed to grin and speak, "Don't... cry... angel... I'm not... gonna die... just... yet..."

Naruto's angel...

Her byakugan was activated without a thought, and she saw what the nurses had been speaking off. He glowed, and not just in the ways that Hinata would usually say he did. In her enhanced vision, he could see his body nearly bursting with chakra, as if every part of him was being overloaded with more chakra then she had ever seen before. She watched it for an idle moment, watching the strange twists of blue and red weave through him. It was beautiful...

And it was killing him. No! She wouldn't let that happen! His smile had saved her so many times. It was time for her to return the favor. She moved without any hesitation, eyes scanning his body. And she saw it, then... and she touched him, simply and directly, with a slight tap of two fingers. Slowly she began working, blocking off chakra pores on some unknown path. The chakra radiated out of some points more then other, running through and overflowing. It was amazing, really. She'd always known Naruto was amazing, but this was something else. His body was so full of chakra that it couldn't hold it all, as though he'd released too much and it was simply burning away. She closed off the points, routing it back slowly.

She realized later that had she made one mistake, one slip, she would have more then likely hastened his death, rather then prevented it. She shuddered at that thought, just knowing someone would be mad at her for her behavior. She nearly died when she was called into the hokage's office, realizing that she must have been found out. Tsunade-sama was so fond of Naruto, she knew. Hinata had heard that it had been Naruto who had brought her back, even, and somehow that didn't even suprise her. He was always doing amazing things, even if no one else noticed. Why would that surprise her?

But she was not in trouble. Indeed, the hokage was praising her.

"I know you were, and that is what makes me even more proud." the hokage said, responding to Hinata's earlier explanation. "Naruto might not have... no, likely would not have made it if you hadn't done what you did, Hinata."

Tsunade was angry when she had first heard about what had been done, but as she saw Naruto's status immediately improve she could not bring herself to still be mad, even more so when she actually layed eyes upon the girl. Hinata was not at all what was expected when she had heard the name Hyuuga. The clan was loyal to Konoha to a fault, and powerful. She had no doubt they would do whatever it took to help the village, even if their traditionalist ways and somewhat snobbish nature tended to make them not always at the top of her favorite people list. But they were powerful, old, and most of all loyal. She could fault them many things, but that was not one of them.

Even still, this girl... she didn't even truly realize what she had done. Tsunande recognized her nervousness instantly, and realized she was so very concerned about what she had done. She likely didn't even realize how miraculous it really was. Hell, she likely didn't even understand truly _what_ she had done. By closing off the chakra points in a certain order she had routed the excess chakra that was eating away at Naruto and reduced it to a more manageable level, letting what remained bleed off naturally as he healed. The pores would slowly reopen, but luckily with a staunched flow that would not pose a threat to the boy.

Tsunade smiled. The girl didn't realize what sort of control that took. She was not expecting any sort of recognition or award. She had done just what she said, try to help. The hokage was truly happy she had found this girl, or rather that she had made herself visible. "Hinata, I have one request of you, if you would."

Hinata looked up, still silent. A request? The hokage was giving a her a request? Oh, what could it be...

"I would like you to look after Naruto, if you could. He's gone through a lot, and he's going to need people like you who simply want to help him." she said, and was surprised when she saw her breathe catch. Hinata, on the other hand, was simply... oh, words escaped her again.

"S-stay with Naruto-kun?" she said, suddenly regretting her choice of words as it escaped her mouth. But Tsunade simply smiled, being the perceptive sort, and realized how lucky she had been. Giving how she'd wiped out on gambling recently, it was no surprised she'd get lucky sooner or later in something. Seemed this was her jackpot.

"Yes, Hinata." she said, smile widening as she did. "Naruto is going to need people, and with what you've done for him, I can think of no one better. This is not an official mission, mind you, just my own request. If you're not feeling up to it..."

"I'll do it!" Hinata blurted out, blushing furiously. Tsunade just grinned. This was going to be good for the boy, she thought. And the girl too, likely.

And, at the very least, it would be amusing to watch.


	4. Part 1, Chapter 3: Promises to Others

**Author Note:** Thanks for all the story watches and reads, nice to know people enjoy the story enough for that. Though, reviews would help me get a better picture on how people like the story. Honestly, the first five or so chapters are, in many ways, simply setting up the rest of the story, introducing some of the character dynamics, and the like.

The story will focus more on Sasuke and Sakura, even though this chapter has a somewhat heavy focus on Naruto and Hinata. However, the contrast between the two pairs is actaully intentional, and will show up more. And, sets up for some fun two-on-two fight scenes later. :P

Thanks again for reading, and please review! But even more then that, I must ask, how do you like how I'm handling Sasuke, and Sakura? I'm trying to stay as true to their characters as I can, but I actually find them far harder to write then Naruto or Hinata. So I'm curious on how people think I'm handling that.

* * *

To say that Naruto was not in a very good mood would be very much like saying Jiraiya was only your average, everyday smut peddler. It simply didn't begin to scratch the surface of the situation, and thus was the situation with the young Uzumaki. And, one likely could not fault him for such a mood either, given the circumstances. His frustration could be linked very clearly to the fact he was bed-ridden, wrapped in linens, and, for the first time in his life, actually hurt enough that he couldn't just shrug it off and get out of the hospital, despite the warnings of nurses and doctors. He had a reputation for that.

Unfortunately, his state was still one that he could barely bring his body to move much, let alone attempt a daring escape to acquire the liquid gold that was Ichiraku Ramen. What a great injustice this was, piled on top of the emotional and physical torment he had been subjected to as of late.

It wasn't enough that he had been injured to a degree that even grandma Tsunade hadn't ever seen it before, in a fight with his closet and strongest friend, who disappeared to go train under the asshole who had just attacked their only home, and in the process decided to drag along his other closest friend as well. No, they had to make it worse by trying to feed him this absolutely pitiful gruel.

Which was, of course, why he was happy to have that one little bright spot in this whole experience. He hadn't really expected it, even after she'd visited a few times before. He figured she was just there to check up on her cousin, despite everything he'd done, and of course on her teammate, Kiba.

From what he'd heard, though, Neji was already going home, and Kiba was going to be doing so fairly soon as well, though not under such good circumstances. His nin-dog, Akamaru, was in bad shape, Naruto had heard, and might not fully recovery at all. Kiba was taking that hard, and after how he'd seen them fight, he couldn't really blame him.

Akamaru was a close bond that, in a strange way, Naruto did understand. It wasn't quite the same as his own, but it was amusing to think of Sasuke as a dog, so he liked it anyway.

But, with both of them going home, Naruto figured it would be back to the lonely days of waiting alone for his damn injuries to heal up enough to get back to training, so he could go drag Sasuke back. It was with grim amusement that he thought that he wouldn't even need to drag Sakura, she'd just follow along Sasuke.

It hurt, a little, but he found that the humor was a coping mechanism he was more then used to using already. He hid his wounds behind a smile.

She wasn't so easily convinced. He had been happy, at least, to have anyone to talk to, really. Most people seemed to avoid his room, and he wasn't all that surprised. He was used to that sort of behavior. He didn't expect grandma Tsunade to stop by often either: she was hokage, she had work, and she couldn't be pulled away from that just to check up on one genin.

He understood that, he really did. Besides, she was nice, but she wasn't exactly his sort of conversationalist. He talked about how he was going to replace her some day, she talked about gambling. Not much overlap in interests.

But... then there was _her. _She... listened to him. Just, sat there, and listened, and acted as thought he was the most interesting person in the world. Which was good, cus he knew he was, and it was nice to see someone else appreciate that. Maybe she was just being nice, cus he was hurt, but she always had seemed nice to him, if a bit shy... and dark... and weird.

But she had done so well at the exams, and she'd really helped him that time before too. He hadn't been lying when he said she was the sort of person he liked. Because, in a lot of ways, she was just like him. Well, maybe not just, but... sorta. Maybe... kinda...

Well, who cares, she was there, right? And that was nice. Nice to pass the time. He never realized how much time she actually spent there. Naruto was never exactly renowned for his observational prowess. Still, as he overheard nurses talking about that 'snarky dog boy' getting out soon, and having already heard about that 'white-eyed kid' being released, he figured that his afternoon chats where going to come to and end soon.

He wasn't very happy about that, and Hinata, who _was _more known for her observational prowess, could tell. She was worried he was mad at her for something she'd done wrong, but shook that thought away. Naruto wasn't like that, and he never had been.

He was always kind, and caring, and maybe a little rough around the edges, but it only made him better. It made him human, and made the fact of his triumphs all the sweeter. She envied him, in a way. But, having him cheer her on, and then having the chance to return that favor. That had made her only want even more to earn his respect, and to see him smile.

And she would do whatever it took for both those goals. She loved it when he was happy.

But, he was not happy. He was upset, and she didn't quite know what to say. Indeed, she still didn't know, even when she did something that made his expression change to one of the biggest smiles she'd ever seen him have. She was being her, something she generally had been informed for a long time was a bad thing, though she had gradually been reverses by the combined efforts of her team and sensei, and even by Naruto.

It was a simple thing, really. They had been talking, or rather he had and she was listening, only for this to be interrupted by a low groan. Naruto's stomach rumbled, followed by his embarrassed apology that led into a rather lengthy discussion of why hospital food was so bad, which led into the lament that he was unable to get any ramen. She listened intently, simply reveling in the fact that, for once, she had his undivided attention.

She wanted to see him smile again, a true smile, not the half-smiles that he hid behind when he was hurting inside. Much like before, it was an instinctive thing. She spoke without much thought.

"Um... I... I could bring you lunch, Naruto-kun... from now on, if you'd like." she said, staring so hard into her lap that she feared she might burn a hole right through it. She glanced up, trying to hide her blushing face, which failed utterly when she saw that smile of his. A true, blue wonderful smile that took her breath away.

"For real? Ah, Hinata, you're the best!" he exclaimed, bolting upright as he did. He smiled intently for a moment before his face suddenly fell, and he quickly eased himself back into the bed, muttering something that sounded very much like 'owowowowow' as he did.

She brought her hand to her mouth and giggled, causing him to pout ever so slightly.

In truth, he was not really so excited because of the promise of finally having some decent food. He was happy about that, of course, but there was something more. He was so happy because it meant she was still coming to visit.

And that made him happy.

* * *

It had been eleven days since they left their home. It had been two days since they ran out of food, turning to their survival skills to forage and hunt for food. It had been twenty-one hours and nineteen minutes since Sasuke had said anything, and it had been seventeen hours and twenty-three minutes since Sakura had said anything to him.

She was not sure what to think of that.

She still had had no regrets of leaving, not a single one, which actually surprised her. She once had tried to, but found it impossible. Indeed, she almost felt bad for that, but found that too was impossible as the happiness she felt simply to be going off with Sasuke, regardless of their destination. Indeed, she had almost forgotten that entirely, or at least had compartmentalized it away.

Sakura was still in bliss from the previous night. That had been when he had spoken to her last. They'd settled down for the night, having spent the rest of it foraging or traveling. It had been the farthest away from Konoha she'd ever been. She noted that she did not think that it was the farthest from home, because home was where Sasuke for her now. She realized that with a smile.

But the previous night had been perhaps the best. They were exhausted. She could tell, having seen and worked with him for long enough, and having spent the last few days running and leaping along with him. She saw the signs, the little tells that betrayed his true state beneath the shell he kept up. It was a reflex, she knew, and she found that she could be happy she saw through it, even a little, rather then taking it as an insult that he would keep it up around her.

That was just his way, and she had fallen in love with that.

She had nearly collapsed against the trunk of the tree they had stopped by for the night, similar in size, she realized, to the one they had hid under during the chuunin exam. That seemed so long ago now, but it had only truly been a scant few weeks. How strange that felt to her, for it to see so long ago.

As she lay there, wondering how much farther they would be going tomorrow and how far they had come already, she was suddenly struck by a very warm thing being pressed against the side of her body, and in her tired haze realized that Sasuke had settled next to her and put an arm around her to hold her close.

"It's going to be cold tonight." was all he said before he closed his eyes and began to drift off. It took Sakura much longer to fall asleep. Much, much longer. The details of her mind were far too, for lack of a better term, 'girly' to get into with much depth, but suffice to say it was only due to exhaustion that she fell asleep at all. She was glad she did, however, as she found that waking up in his arms (or arm, but who is counting?) was even better then having it draped over her in the first place.

To his credit, Sasuke was not doing it solely due to cold, which was a reason. It had gotten particularly chilly that night, and he would have suggested that regardless. The fact of the matter was, he had the strangest feeling that he owed that to her, and he couldn't figure out why. Some contact, any contact. He didn't know why he felt obligated, and once again he was faced with something he did not understand. And he did not like having things he did not understand.

So he rationalized. He was building the bond. If she was going to be useful to him, she should be absolutely loyal. And while he thoughts she was, and by her own confession she would do anything, it was best to cultivate that and bind her closer to him, to the point she would do anything without batting an eyelash.

So he told himself, and once again, he believed it. And perhaps, just a little, it was true.

He awoke to find her staring at him, still resting in his arms, with a smile on her face. He grunted a simple statement and stood...

"Hello, Orochimaru." he said with an almost bored tone, looking at nothing in particular. He knew he was there, and Sasuke knew it was because Orochimaru wasn't even trying. The Uchiha's sharingan spun up, head snapping to the left. The pale white figure was there, suddenly and without any preamble. His lackey stood next to him, the four-eyed medical-nin that had, during the chuunin exams, helped Team Seven acquire their scrolls on time, and survive. Sasuke realized now he was doing that on direction from Orochimaru, or at least for the sannin in some way.

It was Kabuto who spoke first.

"How irreverent." the bespectacled man said with a grin, adjusting his glasses as he did. It was habit Sasuke would grow to hate over the years. Orochimaru simply grinned that feral grin he always had.

"Sasuke-kun... how nice of you to come. I see you've lost your escort, but picked up another one..." the snake-eyed man said, motioning for Sakura. She stood up with fear in her eyes, inching closer to Sasuke. Her hand reached out and clutched at the edge of his shirt like a child reaching desperately for their safety blanket. Orochimaru's grin only got wider.

"I see..." he said with a low tone, causing Sasuke to bristle. He did not know why.

Oh how he hated that.

"She's with me, and this is the deal." Sasuke said with a steely tone, "She learns too. To be useful to me."

She should have felt insulted by that, she knew. But she wasn't. Instead, she was only happy he had said she was with him, and that he wanted her to be useful. She could do that, for him. She had promised to do that.

Orochimaru's predatory glee never left. He waited a few dramatic moments before replying. "Kabuto... you're going to have a new assistant, it seems."

* * *

"I promised."

It had been sudden thing. They had been eating the lunch Hinata had brought in. It was not ramen, though he was quite fond of her homemade ramen, but rather a simple bento. Keeping the ramen warm was a fairly big challenge, and making it across town without spilling or the like was just as problematic. Of course, she could try to prepare it roughshod at the hospital, but the chances of mess and the fact it really just wasn't the same tended to make that an unappealing prospect.

So, she made a large bento for them to share, and brought that instead. Naruto, never one to turn down food, particularly as good as food that Hinata made, was not even close to complaining. And Hinata... well, she was simply happy to be so close to him.

Naruto, despite himself, was actually a courteous when it came to eating from the shared box, and managed to figure out which parts Hinata favored and steer clear of them. This was not particularly hard, as she made more then enough for both of them, and wasn't a particularly heavy eater in the first place. He would pick a bit, eat some, and between his bouts he would talk. Usually. Sometimes he wouldn't talk, usually when he was thinking about Sasuke, or about Sakura.

From how he spoke, the former had seemed to be more on his mind then the latter, though both were commonplace thoughts. Simply put, the bond that he had shared with Sasuke was utterly unlike the bond he had shared with Sakura. They were both strong, sure, but Sasuke was something different. Special. She had been bold when she asked him about it, and he had been kind in his response.

"He was the one who acknowledged me the most." he had said, a softer smiler on his face then she was used to seeing. She couldn't even begin to grasp what it must have been like to lose someone so close like that, let alone your genin teammates. Not simply to lose to death, but to have them leave. Death had not stolen Sasuke, he had stolen himself.

It was strange to her, even considering the possibility of her teammates simply leaving. It was not the same as dying, which was something every shinobi faced. It was somehow worse then that, and she found it so utterly unappealing that the thought exercise was something she had quit very quickly, less she fall into her own bout of depression. She did not bounce back so easily as Naruto.

But something about Naruto had changed. She still admired him, even more so really, after talking with him. But she could tell, even from her few interactions, that he had changed. It was like she had seen him, the day of the chuunin exams. Not just depressed, but dejected. Sasuke's betrayal had hit him hard, but there was more to it then that. She wasn't sure what it was until he had, in a completely alien voice, said so himself. It was quiet, low, and very much unlike Naruto.

She looked at him with confusion. It was the first real thing he'd said to her that day, aside from the smiling greeting he'd give, thanks for the food, and a few other Naruto-isms that she very much enjoyed, but knew were not truly from his heart that day.

He turned to her and smiled softly, explaining himself, "I promised him that I was gonna bring them back, no matter what it took, no matter how long it took." There was no need to define him, or them. She knew exactly who he had meant.

"Promise of a lifetime, I told him." he said, voice going low, he turned back, looking down into his lap. He had been able to sit up more easily as of late, though Hinata hadn't minded helping him eat earlier on. "And I meant it, I really did. And I will do it, I will... but I'm stuck here, for who knows how long."

He sighed, and said nothing more.

And much like all the other times, it was an instinctive thing. She acted without hesitation, no bogging down of her mind by the embarrassment she had crippling her before. Her close proximity to Naruto had weakened that, but it was still there, from time to time. But there was none of it here, no stuttering or halting.

"Naruto..." she began, getting his attention. She smiled at him, a happy and true smile. "I promise I'll help you, in any way I can. To get better, to get stronger... to make your promise come true."

He stared at her as thought she'd grown a second head for a long time. Eventually, her boldness wore off, and she found that rosy pink flush to her cheeks once more. She turned away, bringing a hand to her mouth as she did. Oh, what had she said. He was going to think she was so weird for saying something like that.

She was right, after a fashion. He did think it was so very weird to hear someone say that to him, something he never thought he'd hear. But Naruto was anything but disappointed. She glanced at him, only to find that his face had changed to one of those smiles she loved so very much.

"Alright!" he said, nearly shouting it really, and pumped an arm in the air. "Thanks, Hinata, means a ton!" he said, chuckling slightly in that oh-so-Naruto way. "And... I know you mean it too. Cus that's who we are. We never go back on our word!"

Hinata smiled softly as she turned back to him and nodded, "Because that's our Nindo... our ninja way."

* * *

She impressed him more often then he would ever let her know.

He was surprised how easily he fell into the routine of it. It was no so different from before, something that had frustrated him at first. Of course, his new trainer was immeasurably stronger then his previous, and it was a more daily and directed training, but Orochimaru was not exactly the most encouraging of teachers either. Of course, the relationship that Sasuke had with him was fundamentally unlike many of the others the White Snake had cultivated.

It was based around power, true, but unlike most of those others he had taken in his coils, it was a relationship that existed without any of the idol worship or pretension many of the others did. He did not call him sensei, or anything really. He was just Orochimaru, and it was so very impudent in how he spoke to his teacher, demanding, in his cool and collected way, that he teach him.

Orochimaru, for his part, loved it. It was refreshing, and it so very much reminded him of himself. The sannin loved himself, more then anything, and so it was hard for him not to like the bastard Uchiha.

For his part, Sasuke knew quite well that his new 'master' was going to be far more responsive to his normal attitude then the fawning that so many of his other subordinates did. Not that he didn't see the usefulness in that, of course. Loyal subordinates were always a boon. Which is why he kept her around, or so he kept telling himself.

And he was increasingly glad he did. Her passion was easily diverted; her loyalty to him was refocused on her training. She threw herself into it with all due gust, eager to please him. A glance of approval, or a smirk of amusement, it was all she truly wanted from him. Sometimes, he gave it to her.

In daily training, she couldn't keep up with him, but then again she never could. Nor did he expect her to; that would have been grossly unfair to the girl, and let it never be said the Sasuke Uchiha was being a bully. He was not forcing her to conform to unreal expectations in the least. He just wasn't letting her know that.

She was getting better. Each day, she'd last a little bit longer when she sparred with him. And they would spar daily, because the Uchiha found he could not deny that he enjoyed her company. She had spunk, and he could appreciate her candor from time to time. And he let her know, in his own ways. Her comments and the snark she showed was responded with approving smiles. Just often enough to let her know he was happy with it, but rare enough to keep her from forcing it.

They had a system. Six hours of sleep, then they would go through various exercises and warm-ups for two hours. Sometimes he let her do them with him, sometimes he did not. After that, they would spend time with their respective 'sensei.' She was learning from Kabuto, at first simply serving as a shill for his various experiments; an extra set of hands. It had been she who asked for him to train her, both to fight and as a medical-nin. She wanted to be useful, she said.

He had been reluctant, but Orochimaru found it amusing. With his approval, Kabuto threw himself into the training regiment. He treated her as an apprentice, a nearly 180 degree shift from his barely hidden contempt before. To her credit, she threw herself into the training with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Which, given the approval Sasuke had given her for her proactive attempts at gaining strength, was rather high.

She had always been good at chakra control. Kabuto made her better. It was hands-on training, and Kabuto was a surprisingly good teacher. He was not Kakashi, preferring to let his students figure out how to learn on their own with only minimal guidance. It was direct and clear; do this, you're doing this wrong, good job there, now try this. She found herself thriving. Her already precise chakra control skyrocketed.

And she was getting better in other areas too.

Kabuto taught her Taijutsu. She lasted five minutes against Sasuke one day. Her idol gave her an honest smile then. He had been truly surprised and impressed, and he let it show. He took her with him when he got lunch, and simply talked with her that day, even though it cost him half a day of training. To reward her, he told himself. It wasn't that he honestly wanted to spend time talking with her.

This became more common. At least twice a week he would simply spend time talking. Orochimaru was reserved about the shift, but at the same time he was no fool. He saw truth where Sasuke did not. Sakura had more of an effect on him then Sasuke would admit; he fought harder after spending time with her, and in the few times they fought side by side...

It impressed even him. He almost felt bad about the fact that he would break up that little bond eventually. Almost. For now, though, it was as useful a tool as anything. And she was as loyal to him as much, if not more so, then many of his own peons. And so he said nothing about their time together.

They did not speak of Konoha, nor did they speak of_ him. _It was an unspoken taboo. Sasuke had told her once that he had severed that bond; that only two bonds were important to him now. One was a bond of hate with his brother, of vengeance. He let the other trail off, but she had clung to his words and kept them close to her heart.

He never explained why he continued to wear his konoha hitae-ite.

But Sasuke was not always pleased with her, and he let that show quite clearly. She had done poorly, only a minute and she was already sprawled out, gasping. She felt his glare burning through him.

"Is that the best you can do? Hmph..." he said, contempt lacing his words. He was not surprised how easy that was, but he was surprised at why he felt it. It was not contempt for her weakness, but rather he found himself angry that she was wasting potential. He had seen her do better, he knew she could do better, and she had failed.

He would not tolerate failure, not in himself, and not in her.

"Get up." he said coldly, blood red sharingan staring into her prone form. "Get up. I've got no use for a weakness, and no use for someone who won't _fight._"

She flinched, but wasted no time in pushed herself up. A second wind, of sorts. Tears ran from her eyes, but it was not sadness that her face showed. It was determination, and anger. Anger at herself, for being weak. She could not be weak.

She had made him a promise. She was going to keep it.

Sakura collapsed seven minutes later. The last thing she saw was Sasuke's cold eyes staring at her as she fell... and the subtle approving grin. She did not feel him catch her, nor did she know that he had carried her back to her quarters, nor did she know he spent nearly an hour watching her as she slept away her fatigue.

"You're not weak." he whispered, staring at the girl he had just pummeled into the ground. "I'm proud of that."

She did not hear it. She did not need to. She already knew.


	5. Part 1, Chapter 4: The Journeys We Take

**Author Note:** And now we can get into the real meat and potatoes of the story, once a few last things are cleared away. Stage is set for it, so the story will gradually go from these mental overviews and large spans of time to more focused scenes, likely slowing down the story as a whole, but for the better of things. Plus, I'm sure you guys will love more interaction between the main stated characters and all. And some better fight scenes.

* * *

She was getting better, and that made Sasuke a happy man. Man, because he had sacrificed his boyhood long ago. He was hardly a child, which was itself a fault term to apply to any of the many young shinobi who made up the early ranks of the ninja program. He wondered if people realized how grim that actually was; they were a key element of the military might of the nation. Children, often younger then teens, and yet they were tasked with being the fist of a nation.

Childhood was something that many shinobi sacrificed. It was not hard to see why so many became as eccentric as they did. It was a surprise so many functioned as well as they did, given the things they had to do. But, then again, most of the truly unhinged ones tended towards the ANBU units, or rarely made it past Tokubetsu Jonin. Others ended up dead, by their or enemy hands, or as missing-nin, which generally meant also dead in the long run.

Then again, he was now a missing-nin too, though he hadn't exactly taken any aggressive action against the village. Some, he knew, would see who he had run to as a traitorous act in and of itself, and he did not blame them. He knew that everyone back in Konoha (not home, anymore, simply Konoha) likely thought he was crazy.

That worked just fine with him. He never claimed to be exactly and totally sane. Having one's clan slaughtered in front of you tended to cause that in people. Being forced to watch it over and over made it only more justifiable. That being said, he was likely a bit too right in the mind to be a crazy person.

He brought his mind back to his original thought,.What was it again? Ah, yes, being pleased. Or perhaps proud was more accurate description of his feelings. Even that was not quite right, but it was a start. She had made so much progress, and his mind had traced it back to that day, and that brutal fight. He had told her he had no use for someone who couldn't fight. He didn't know why, but he found he was unhappy with himself when the thought of that.

It was true, though. Unless she could fight for him, she would be no use. He needed a partner at best, or a tool at worst. She could be his shield, or his sword, or something else, but she could not be his cheerleader. And she seemed to know that too, which was why he found some pride in the fact that she had doubled her efforts in the last few months. She was no match for him in a straight up fight, but she was not supposed to be either, though he had been more liberal in letting her know that as of yet.

With Sakura's progress increasing under the tutelage of Orochimaru's chief aide, the often annoying Kabuto, it had been Sasuke's place to step up. He had pushed himself to apply the principles he'd gained when he learned chidori to other uses. Orochimaru was good at teaching him principles behind jutsu, but was somewhat reserved in actually teaching him techniques. He had passed on a few of his snake jutsu, though Sasuke as reserved about using them, and had spent more time teaching him general techniques for improving his chakra control and adapting the chidori to other jutsu.

Orochimaru was a genius, Sasuke could admit, when it came to the academic side of jutsu. He could develop them with ease, even if he could not actually perform them himself. This made him a rather suitable tutor for at least that side of things. However, jutsu was not the only skill Orochimaru passed on to his pupil. He trained him in kenjutsu as well; swordplay, and supplied the young Uchiha with a rather effective weapon for it as well. They formed a core of an entirely new wardrobe, given his old clothing had become ragged and worn over their training. He dressed more traditionally, taking something from his teacher in that sense.

It was not out of respect, he simply liked how it looked. And he made it look so much better. And, of course, someone would have to carry on the style after his dear master passed away.

* * *

Sasuke was currently in a state he was fundamentally inexperienced with: speechlessness. He was never a long winded soul, but he was more then capable of saying what he meant and meaning what he said. He could taunt a foe with ease, or be rather eloquent when he needed to be. But he was always very careful to pick his words for the greatest effect. Thus, to be struck with a sudden inability to use any words was a new and utterly unenjoyable experience for him.

She had changed her clothes and... more. Her hair was hanging low, nearly halfway down her back now, the hitae-ite she usually wore as a hair band replaced with a simple red silk ribbon that matched the rest of her outfit well. It was not surprising, really. It reminded him of Kabuto's clothes, abet far more... form fitting, and he was rather glad she was the one wearing the skirt instead of him. It went down below her knees, but was slit up the side all the way to her hips, revealing a rather short white miniskirt beneath.

The top was sleeveless on one side, her left arm hanging free with only a short white undershirt on the upper portion. Her right arm was clad all the way down past her wrist, and the sleeve was far looser then the rest of her attire. She wore it well, and for the first time he realized that she had a far more feminine body then he had given her credit for. The pink silk obi ribbon she wore around her waist accentuated her growing curves, and for some reason he could find no words when he looked at her.

"Sasuke-kun, something wrong?" Sakura asked, a confused expression on her face. Sasuke had a strange look on his face, one she couldn't quite place. She'd never seen him quite like this before.

"Oh, do you like the new outfit? The old one was all in tatters, so I thought I'd get something a bit more updated." she said with a smile, twirling once in a loose pirouette. She giggled slightly, bringing hand to her mouth as she did. "Your new robes look good too, Sasuke-Kun."

She tried to hold back her swooning. He didn't appreciate that, which only endeared him more to her heart. He did not need to be constantly told how great he was, or how good he looked, or how his new outfit showed of his chest so nicely, or how she wanted to throw herself at him and pin him against the bed and tear off his clothes and...

She was blushing now, wasn't she? She shook her head to clear her mind. Sasuke, on the other hand, was still staring. She was starting to get worried.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" she said with concern, followed by a rather standard response of 'hn' from the Uchiha as he turned to walk off.

"Lets... get something to eat, Sakura-chan."

She froze there, as speechless as Sasuke had been not long before. Sasuke had called her Sakura-chan. Sasuke did not use honorifics, ever. Not even to Kakashi-sensei, or Orochimaru. He certainly didn't use them with her...

Sasuke turned back, his expression amused. "What?" he asked with a grin, "Aren't you coming?"

She was blushing all through lunch.

* * *

_Back in Konoha..._

Naruto could perhaps be faulted for many things, but enthusiasm was never one of them. Nor was optimism, and despite the great many failures in finding any leads on his teammates-turned-missing-nin he'd been faced with as of late he had never once showed any sort of faltering spirit. If anything, each failure seemed to spur him to new heights of enthusiasm. Ino once asked him how he could be so excited even after they'd failed, to which he responded very simply.

"It's one less thing to do, don't you see?" he said, smile on his face, "That option didn't work, so we go to the next one, and the next one, and eventually, we'll get to the one that does work!"

Ino found herself smiling at that response, and Naruto simply rushed off to do whatever Naruto did. How strange it was to find herself actually admiring the blond-haired genin. He'd been dead last in the academy, and then turned out to be the shocking upset of the entire class. Naruto had wowed everyone, and was continuing to do so every day. She'd never seen him doubt himself, and all that enthusiasm...

She sighed. She wished she could be like him, always so hopeful and eager. But Ino worried. She had not seen Sasuke's defection coming, and that made her realize that she had to admit she knew so very little about the Uchiha boy. Indeed, the more she thought, the more she realized she knew truly almost nothing. This image of the perfect boy in her head was cultivated by his mysterious and closed nature. He had been a blank slate for each girl to write in their own story or details.

Ino had come to the conclusion that she had never truly 'loved' or even liked Sasuke at all. She liked her concept of Sasuke, a person who did not actually exist and never would. For that reason, she was not surprised that she had not predicted his sudden defection. But Sakura...

Sakura was her friend. Her _best _friend, really. Even after their split they were still unable to sever that bond. And, after the events of the chuunin exams, that friendship had returned in full force. She had enjoyed that, having her friend back, even if they had not given up on the fight over the Uchiha. But something had become very apparent to the young Yamanaka: Sakura truly loved Sasuke. She had always had a talent for reading people, and although many of the girls their age had said it, it was only after the friendship had been cultivated once more that she realized the depths that her friend's feelings went.

She had told herself she felt the same, and perhaps it was living vicariously through Sakura that she had been able to convince herself that was true. But even knowing that, she had not seen any signs of the lengths Sakura would go for for Sasuke. Her feelings were there, but to go follow him into the jaws of the one who had just attacked their home?

She'd lost her friend and her crush in one fell swoop. To an extent, she seemed to be taking it harder then even Naruto had, though she began to wonder if Naruto was simply distracted so much by Hinata. Ino was surprised at all the time they had been spending together, either on missions, or training, or simply talking. She smelled romance, though Hinata was fairly defensive whenever she mentioned it. But she always had been pretty shy. Still, given how thick Naruto was, Ino suspected it might be the truth.

She sighed as her mind wandered back to Sakura. Asuma-sensei had told her she should not be so hard on herself, and that no one saw it. She couldn't be held responsible, he said. Ino felt differently. She was her best friend, she was a Yamanaka. She should have seen it, could have seen it... if she was stronger. But, instead of helping stop them, she did nothing. Shikamaru and Choji came back, and she felt as though she should be apologizing to them. Especially Choji; he'd nearly died. And despite what anyone said, she still was blaming herself.

She wanted to be stronger, and she wanted never to be unaware of the workings of others. She wanted to be able to get inside people's heads without tossing her soul at them.

Which is exactly what she had told the head of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force, Ibiki Morino, when she asked him to train her.

* * *

Kiba had not been on a mission in nearly two months. The reason for this was two fold. He was not exactly in an emotional state to do so in the least, spending most of his time moping around his home. The second reason was directly related to the first: Akamaru was not capable of performing as a nin-dog any longer.

He had been heavily injured during the their tenure on the short lived Sasuke Retrieval Team, specifically during their fight with the creepy ass twins. The Suna-Nin had shown up with his puppets in time to save the young Inuzuka and his partner from death, and had assisted in getting them back to Konohagakure in time as well. But there was only so much medical-nin could do. Even his own sister, with her veterinary expertise, could work only so many miracles.

Akamaru was alive, which made Kiba indescribably happy, but the pup was unable to participate in many of the coordinated combat techniques that were the Inuzuka clan's trademark. He might be able to track, and eventually keep up with Kiba even at full tilt, but he would not fight again. This left Kiba without his closest friend and partner, and took away his combat focus.

He was honestly considering retiring all together, even going so far as to talk with Kurenai-sensei about replacing him in the team. He had suggested offering the position to Naruto, given the strange friendship that had sprung up between the blond-haired genin and Hinata. The fact that Naruto was left essentially without a team made the concept sensible to Kiba. He was planning on handing in his resignation within a week.

The last person he had expected to show up and try to talk him out of this was Naruto's jonin sensei. Kakashi had shown up without preamble, dragged him out into one of the many training fields in Konohagakure, and unfurled a scroll in front of him.

Curious, Kiba had asked what the heck it was.

"This is going to be your new tool" Kakashi said, "It's a summoning contract. The dog contract, to be precise."

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was leaving Konoha.

It was not something he had wanted to do, really. He had never even imagined having to leave, and certainly not for such a length of time. The thought of leaving his home was not one he entertained lightly. In an oddly cynical moment he had thought about how that apparently made him the unique one amongst his team. He shook that thought away. He would find them both, and bring them home. He had promised, hadn't he? And he never went back on his word.

Naruto looked at his traveling companion. The Pervy Sage, as Naruto rather amusingly called him, had come to talk with the young genin after he had been bedridden yet again. He had appeared in the window right after Hinata had gone home after their lunch. Jiraiya gave him one of those sly grins that Naruto was so used to seeing, but the context had confused him.

"Quite a catch you got there. Seems like you're old teacher's taste is rubbing off on you after all." he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he did. Naruto became flustered.

"It's not like that, you perv! She's my friend!" he had said defensively, causing Jiraiya to laugh. Let the kid figure it out on his own.

Of course, what Naruto did not know was that his embarrassment was not entirely because of the rather suggestive tone his ero-sennin had presented the idea with. Rather, Naruto was embarrassed because, deep down, he rather liked the concept. But he was young, and bristled at the implication for unknown reasons.

But after that little tease, his sensei had gotten far more serious. It was strange how fast he could change gears, from joking lecher to composed sannin without any warning or preamble. It confused the young genin.

Jiraiya hadn't wasn't much time informing him of Akatsuki's movements and his plan to take him off for a lengthy journey. Harder to find if you're moving around, that was the reasoning, and he'd be training him too. Of course, Naruto had responded quickly, saying he couldn't just go off when Orochimaru was planning to hijack his friend's body. But let it never be said that Jiraiya was unprepared. He'd looked into that to, and somewhat mollified Naruto by informing him of the three-year wait for Orochimaru.

And he told him he needed to be stronger if he intended to live up to that promise he'd made.

Naruto had gone silent for a few moments before summoning his trademark enthusiasm and agreeing with his teacher and rather hastily trying to get up from his bed, still looking like a mummy, and rather quickly eased back into the bed. Jiraiya had laughed, commended his eagerness, but told him that his current mission was to heal up. They had a week.

The week had not lasted. He spent the first three days in bed, still recovering from the wounds he'd received. That had given him a chance to talk with Hinata, at least. He liked talking with Hinata. She was different then the other girls he'd known, and certainly different then Sakura, the only real girl he'd had any lengthy interaction with. But it was a good sort of difference. Less hitting, more talking, and far more laughing. He particularly appreciated the first part, as being around a pretty girl wasn't as great when she was always clobbering you.

When he had told Hinata that she grew very quiet, and very red. It was odd, really. He was used to her getting rather shy around him, though she'd seemed to have stopped as of late. Naruto had just chaulked it up to one of the many things he never really understood about girls in general. Like why Sakura was so violent around him and yet was so sickly sweet to the bastard. Or why Ino was so bossy...

Actually, he didn't know enough girls really. But Hinata was such a stark contrast to Sakura that he found it quite refreshing. And, once she'd gotten past that whole shy thing she was even a pretty good conversationalist. He'd found out interesting things, like her hobbies. Flower-pressing, she had said, and then he had surprised her with how truly and actually interested in that he actually was. His gardening hobby had surprised her too.

He wondered what the others would say if they knew he spent hours talking with Hinata about flowers and plants. Something snarky, no doubt. He had brought that up with Hinata too, and they had some good laughs as Naruto imitated their various friends fairly accurately. It had made Hinata laugh and smile, and that made Naruto happy. He was happy that the laughter at his antics was once with him, and not at him. The attention in general was something he came to treasure.

She had taken his news of going away with sadness, and Naruto was stricken with the strangest feeling of conflicting emotions he'd ever had. On one hand, he found the fact that someone not only enjoyed his presence but also found the idea of being unable to continue enjoying it to be an unpleasant thing... downright odd. And he shared it too, he hated the concept of not talking with her, but reminded himself that he still needed it. It was for the best, and that she'd be there when he got back, just like all his friends.

He knew that. Particularly her. That was their nindo, after all.

And with that thought, he managed to actually keep a smile as he left Konoha, falling into step behind the white-haired Toad Sage. Well, that thought, and look on Hinata's face when he had handed her a parting gift. He knew she could press it, too. He had been hoping she wouldn't be weirded out by what they meant; she had shown a remarkable knowledge of the so-called 'language of flowers' before. He picked them for their meaning, and because they reminded him of her eyes.

Pale violet bellflowers. She had known what they meant. She had given him a look he had not seen, but had rather enjoyed. Her face was as red as often, but with a smile on it, and she looked him straight in the eye. It was a bolder looking face, and Naruto rather liked it. It was that face that was in his mind as he left his home. Which was, of course, what the flowers had meant.

In the language of flowers, the bellflower means 'thinking of you.'

* * *

Hinata watched Naruto disappear into the horizon for some time, and then spent almost an hour watching even after he'd gone. Neji, of all people, had stood with her the entire time. She was happy for that. It was part of a great many things that had made the last few months some of, if not the most, happiest months of her young life.

Her father had begun to acknowledge her, in his own way, and apologize even, again in his own way. Each day he seemed to show greater interest in her development, and she had seen him smile at her more times in those few months then she could ever remember. But that was only part of the change. Neji, having apologized for his behavior, had also taken a far greater interest in her, much like an older brother. She was happy for that, and for the fact of how kinder he had become as a whole. He was even training with Hiashi now.

Ino had taken an interest in her, as it would be, and struck up a friendship with her as well. She suspected it was partially because she lacked any other girls, with Sakura's leaving and all. But she was happy for it never-the-less. Ino was... different, but what had begun likely as nothing more then Ino's boredom had grown into an actual friendship. Hinata frequented her family's shop often to get supplies for her pressing. Even Naruto had started going there for his own gardening needs.

Naruto... that was the true light of it all as well. She was closer to him then she had ever imagined possible, and felt secretly bad that it had been his abandonment by his teammates that had brought that about. She should not have felt so glad for it, and yet she found it hard not to. Something told her that, in another time and place, she never would have been. She never would have been there to save him, nor would she have become such a close a friend, and nor would he have handed her a bunch of flowers that made her more confident then she had ever been in her entire life.

Neji had placed a hand on her shoulder eventually, but said nothing more. They had left for home after that, though she hadn't stayed long. Long enough to put the flowers into some water and then go out on her own mission, of sorts. Naruto wasn't the only one who had made a promise, nor the only one who needed to get stronger. And, high on confidence, she set out to call in a favor with a certain someone .

She took a deep breath, and headed for the hokage's office.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in a hidden location..._

Orochimaru honestly found the Sakura girl that had tagged along with his new body somewhat fascinating, and simultaneously absolutely frustrating. He had let her stay at first if only for amusement, and to allow the Uchiha to become more relaxed; more easily molded to what Orochimaru wanted from him. Later, the sannin found her presence tended to make him fight harder, even if he had never noticed it.

He failed to notice many things, however. For one who bore the sharingan, he proved oddly unperceptive.

It also made her train almost as hard as the boy was. It was touching, really, how her devotion to him made the girl push herself. In a way, it reminded Orochimaru of Guren and her devotion to him. Obviously there were some differences, but the similarity was still there. The relationship between Guren and Orochimaru, however, was decidedly different and yet strangely the same. Both were based on power. Guren followed Orochimaru for it, and Orochimaru was fascinated by hers. With Sasuke and the girl it was different; he saw power he could use in her, and and her power came from her devotion. And, of course, the power she had over him that neither of them realized.

He had tested that power. He was not sure if it was a good idea.

It a was a simple test, really. He'd sent them to collect up some prisoners, along with another of his useful and fascinating subordinates. Karin proved quite useful, and from what he could tell she had taken quite a liking to the Uchiha as well. He was not unaware, it seemed, even he had no return on that infatuation. Orochimaru watched him save Karin after she had been caught unawares, but what had happened after was what had surprised him.

Sakura had seemed angry at that, lashing out with a hand that glowed with cutting power. Kabuto had passed on his many medical-nin arts that formed the core of his fighting style, and the chakra scalpel was one she had taken to quite well. She swept her arm, but it was not either of them she was aiming for. Rather, it was one of the escapees who had snuck up behind Sasuke and Karin after he had caught her. She looked down at him with a look that Orochimaru had never seen in her eyes, and from the looks of it, one that Sasuke had not seen either, before leaping off to find more of the prisoners on her own.

The exchange had taken less then a few seconds, but that little event seemed to trigger something in Sasuke, and it had not escaped Orochimaru's notice. He became more attentive, even if only slightly, and in his own way. He had treated her very much like a tool. Not a common tool, of course, but more like a treasured sword; it had obvious sentimental value and use, and you would hate to see something happen to it, but at it's core it was still a tool. But that single sweep that had cut through the windpipe of desperate man had also cut through Sasuke's image of her.

She was more then a tool to him now. She was a partner, a person who would kill for him without a second thought or hesitation. She did not need to be directed or applied like a simple tool might. Which made her dangerous, and very interesting to the White Snake. But it was an interest much unlike many of his others. She ha no purpose as a host, not even as a joking consideration. She also was no use as a minion of any sort; too devoted to Sasuke, and he was only devoted as long as he believed still had power to gain from Orochimaru.

But she was still so very interesting to watch. But a problem, as well. One he could not deal with in any reasonable way either. She was skilled enough to handle her own and Sasuke was willing to go out of his way for her. Any direct attempt would only cause him to leave, or die fighting. Any indirect attempt would be foiled by one or the other, or the combined efforts of both. This was why he found it so delectable when it was she herself who presented him with an option.

Of course, she either intentionally or unintentionally gave herself a little sliver of survival. Unintentional was most likely, in his opinion, but it was a damnable shame she had done it. Now he would have to go about it seriously, just to prove he could. The fact her chances of survival were still not particularly good only made it better. She may have known to play off his ego, and desire to experiment to get him to do it, but it also meant he'd have to actually try, and not simply use it as a way to kill her off.

Orochimaru had made peace with his pride long ago. He already had Kabuto preparing. He was still pondering her request...

"I know what you can do, I've seen it with my own eyes." she had said, a fire in her eyes, "I want to be useful to Sasuke. Give me something to do that."

And he had simply licked his lips, and said he had just the thing.


	6. Part 1, Chapter 5: Vagueness of Love

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

Sakura flinched. She would have shrunk back from his furious eyes if she could have, but she was already confined to the bed of her quarters. Her face was still dirty from where Kabuto had inscribed various seals and symbols, part of the process she had requested. The marks ran down her entire body, something that she was not at all happy about but was willing to endure for her promise. She wanted only Sasuke to be the one to look at in that state. She would make it up to him, she had told herself. It was worth it.

But under his fiery gaze she began to doubt that assessment. Sasuke was not angered easily, which was one of the many things Sakura had always been drawn to. That cool attitude, always in control if emotions. She had learned, after they had been assigned to the same team and even more-so since their departure from Konoha that it was in many ways the exact opposite. He was ruled by his emotions, in many ways. He simply masked it well. Which, of course, was a testament to his skill in it's own way. Even in that way he was amazing to her.

But he was not hiding it now. His eyes were blood red, three spiral tomoe staring her down. She could not stare into those eyes, she had found that long ago. But she was unable to turn away, caught like one of the Nara's deer in a searchlight. She had to look away, but she could not bring herself to do it. Caught between a rock and a hard place, she whimpered, causing his face to turn up in disgust.

What had she done wrong? She thought he would be happy. She had risked her life for him, to gain a power enough to truly be worthy of standing at his side. To help him, like she'd promised. Do anything, absolutely anything. But instead he was here, eyes burning with fury.

"I- I- just w-wanted to be u-u-useful, Sasuke-k-kun." she managed to struggle out, voice barely a whisper. She finally tore her gaze away, focusing instead on the blankets draped over her.

"Useful?" he said softly, before exploding. "Useful?! You stupid annoying girl!"

He turned away from her then, eyes boring a hole into the floor. She could not stop the tears forming in her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm s-sorry! I just..." she began, single arm shakily reaching for him. "I'm weak, and useless, and annoying. I just thought that maybe if I did this I could be really useful."

"So you risked your life for that?!" he snapped back, causing her arm to jerk back reflexively.

"I would give my life for you, Sasuke-kun! I love you!" she nearly shouted, and the sneer he returned nearly broke her heart.

"But you wouldn't have given your life for me, Sakura! You would have lost it for nothing at all!"

She was very confused after that. She wasn't entirely sure, but she was fairly certain that Sasuke-kun, _her _Sasuke-Kun, was hugging her. No, not simply hugging, but holding on for dear life. He head found his shoulder, tears soaking into the white of his robes. Wasn't he angry with her? Why was he holding her? She had made a mistake, she deserved his anger, but this not it at all. She had not earned this, he'd just said so himself, hadn't he?

"You can't just go tossing your life around like it's useless." he whispered, steely tone faltering. "You can't go get yourself killed. I need you."

"But... you have no use for someone who can't fight. I just wanted to be a better tool fo-"

She had no chance to finish that statement. He pulled back, locking his eyes with hers. But it was different then before. His gaze was still hard and mesmerizing, but at the same time the anger seemed washed from it, replaced with... something she was unfamiliar with from him. Concern.

"You are _not _a tool, Sakura." he said without any elaboration, pulling her back into a hug. She just sat there in shock, arms hanging at her sides. Her tears had not dried, and she rather quickly buried herself into his shoulder again, arms moving to wrap around him without hesitation. He did not shrug her off, and indeed pulled her closer. She began repeating "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." over and over, muffled by his strong shoulder.

She could not tell that there were tears in his eyes too.

* * *

Orochimaru watched the little embrace remotely. A shame, really, that she had survived, though perhaps for the best. Sasuke would have been insufferable otherwise. He knew he'd control himself now, at least until he felt he had been taught enough. But this little display was worth it anyway, how sickly sweet it was. He wondered if he couldn't have been like that once, and then scoffed at the thought. He was suddenly very happy he had not.

How insufferable he would have been.

* * *

Sasuke had to admit that, despite his reservations, the power had proven to be far more useful then he could have ever imagined, though he still had not thought it had been worth it. To kill for him, that he had come to expect from her. To die for him, that he had known she would do from the start. But she had been willing to throw away her life for nothing, just in the off chance it might have helped him. He had been so angry about that, so infuriated that she could be such a fool.

She truly was an annoying girl.

But the power seemed to fit her like a glove. She was never a strength fighter, and Sasuke couldn't ever have imagined her as such. It just wouldn't have fit, using some sort of brute force smash. Elegance was more her style, and she had taken to Kabuto's fast and more precise style of fighting quite well. But even that was paling in comparison to the application of this 'gift' she had been given. From what he heard, it's artificial nature meant it was unlikely to match the original in power, which made Sasuke wonder just what the original could do given all the things that Sakura was managing.

"It's different."

Sasuke looked down from his perch. He had been watching her train from a nearby tree. Their current hideout was located on an area in which the borders of the Lands of Grass, Waterfall, and Fire all met, making the land a diplomatic nightmare and, at first glance an odd place to put a hideout. But given their relatively small and hidden nature, it actually became a quick perfect place; it was not only the last place most people would look, but it also meant that anyone actually finding the hideout would be dealing with miles of bureaucratic red tape to get anywhere near the area without setting off an international incident. Sasuke just liked it because of the trees.

He had grown up in a forest, it was hard not to like trees. Forests in general provided significant training opportunities, both for stealth and combat, and he could not deny the beauty in them either. There was also something fundamentally soothing about being in a tree, he had found, and he would often come here when he needed time to think without distractions or, far less often, was trying to take a break from his training regiment. Recently, another thing had come up to make it more and more common to find him there; Sasuke had taken to watching Sakura train.

And it seemed that this day, Kabuto had decided to join him.

Sasuke grunted his trademark non-verbal response of 'hn' and turned back to the girl's training. It had been only a few scant weeks for her to get the basics of her new abilities down. Sasuke did not fail to notice that ever since he had taken a far keener interest in her progress that her skill had increased at an exponential rate. It would plateau soon, he was sure, but it was interesting never-the-less.

"From the original, I mean. There are some subtle differences. Which is to be expected." Kabuto continued, taking Sasuke's near silence for freedom to continue. "The color, for one. And how it's manifesting. The original was more geometric, rather then the more stylized way your little pet is handling."

Sasuke snapped his head to stare at the medical-nin, sharingan manifesting in his eyes. He did not take keenly to Kabuto's description of Sakura. The medical-nin adjusted his glasses and chuckled.

"Calm down, Sasuke-kun. I meant no offense." he said, hiding the worry in his voice. Sasuke was getting a temper almost as volatile as Orochimaru's, abet with greater focus. "But you should be proud. Usually things like this are a pale comparison to the original, but she's doing quite well."

"To be expected." was all Sasuke replied with, eyes reverting to their natural color as he slowly turned back again. Kabuto said nothing for a long time, and eventually Sasuke heard him turn to leave.

"Orochimaru has already sent for the original to come here, actually." Kabuto said as he began to walk off, adjusting his glasses once more. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

"To see how they really compare, of course." Kabuto said, voice growing fainter as he walked off. "Oh, and to train her, should she need it."

Sasuke had been watching the whole time. Trained, hmm? She would do good with direction, he knew, and perhaps impress him even more. He would have to do something to be sure of it. He found it odd that she had gained this power and yet he felt no ire that he could not copy it with his sharingan. Rather, he found he was glad to have that power at his side, and loyally so. He scowled. Damn that Orochimaru. He had no time to spend feeling even a bit thankful to the old snake. And certainly not about this.

But he could not deny the results.

* * *

_Elsewhere, in Konoha..._

"You are the cornerstone of the team." Tsunade said, voice raised and hands on her hips. "The backbone, the key. If you go down, your team goes down. If you take a hit, there is no one there to heal you."

Tsunade had been training the young Hinata Hyuuga for a months now, ever since Naruto had gone off on his own training journey with Jiraiya. The hokage and sannin was happy to find that Hinata had stopped shrinking back from her when she raised her voice. After Naruto's departure there was a short period where she had seemed to turn into a very shy and closed person, which Tsunade had been informed was her actually 'normal' state, and that she had been otherwise, especially around Naruto, was something of a shock to most of her friends and colleagues. But, leave it to Naruto to bring out the other side of anyone. With a bit of prodding Hinata had returned a bit more to the way she was around Naruto If nothing more, she'd help give the girl a bit more spine in this training.

"For those reasons, you must train yourself to never get hit. You cannot afford it, and your teammates certainly can't afford it." the hokage continued, never taking her eyes off Hinata as he did.

It was a speech Hinata had heard often, but she did not mind. She knew Tsunade was simply repeating herself so it would be always fresh in the Hyuuga's mind. It was funny. Despite how hard she was pushed and yelled at by her new sensei, it was never like it had been with her father, so many years ago. Things had changed, and he had shown at least some open approval that she had become the apprentice to the hokage herself, though true to his stoic nature her did let on any more then he had carefully allowed.

Hinata was still proud for at least that much. It was a start, and far better then she had ever received before.

"So, if you must never be hit, what does that leave?" Tsunade asked, and then swiftly answered her own question as she slammed a fist into the ground that, up until a scant few moments ago, Hinata had occupied.

"You _**dodge!**_" Tsunade finished, a smile on her face. She was learning well, and she was fast. Hinata's clan already used a style which relied heavily on avoiding enemy strikes in place of blocking them. It was a strange side effect of pitting fighters of the Gentle Fist against each other: even if you blocked, you're still going to suffer. Tsunade had heard stories of Hinata's first chuunin exam, a fight against her cousin which nearly killed her. As she launched herself at the girl again, delivering a blow that split a tree that had been behind the girl in half, she wondered how she'd fair now.

Hinata was fast and agile, capable of rather impressive acrobatics as well. She spun in a full backflip as she launched herself away from another blow. It was an unnecessary flourish, really, but another side effect of her Gentle Fist training. Most people didn't realize what an elegant fighting style that was, flowing from strike to strike and highly mobile at that. Which was intentional, really. Most Gentle Fist fighters had no need to draw on the acrobatics they could perform, which led to a wide-spread vision of the style as a very immobile style. Tsunade had learned the hard way that it simply wasn't true during one of their 'sparring matches.'

She was proud of her student. She had excellent chakra control, fantastic mobility, and had picked up the principles of both the medical jutsu she had been instructed on and the near inhuman chakra-enhanced strength that was Tsunade's trademark. Not only that, she'd made it her own, incorporating it into her Gentle Fist style fairly well. It was rarely as earth-shattering as the sannin's, but it was also more precise.

Tsunade had seen her with Naruto, and knew quite well what it was that drove her on to train this hard and push herself. She wanted the boy to be proud of her when she came back; she wanted his approval. It was, to Tsunade, as good a reason as any, she supposed. The brat had that effect on people. He forged a bond between himself and anyone he met and drove them to be better at whatever it was they did. For better, as it was with Hinata, or for worse, was it was with his old teammates.

She knew that Hinata had made a promise, be it verbal or in her heart, to Naruto. And, once they set their mind to it, he knew that both of them would not stop until they achieved whatever they were striving for. So, she would help Hinata get stronger, because it was part and parcel to another young genin's dream; Naruto would be hokage one day, and Hinata would do whatever it took to help him. It was a good system, too. After all, behind every great man was a woman.

As far as that went, Naruto couldn't have faired better.

* * *

Hinata was exhausted. It was not something she was unfamiliar with, really. But, between her training with her father, which had begun again recently, and her apprenticeship to the hokage, she was being worked quite hard. But she was happy, unlike before. She was succeeding this time, she was advancing. Her stoic father showed pride in her, and Tsunade was very adamant about how well she was doing. Hinata found that she was happy, which was such a strange thing to her. But she liked it. There was only one thing that could have made it even better, she thought.

She fell back against her bed, fresh from the baths. She was dressed simply, with no energy left to even consider changing from the simple black shirt and pants. She looked to the left, eyes focusing on a simple frame that hung on her wall. It was nothing special, really. No one would find it the least bit amazing. Pretty, perhaps, but generic. But to Hinata, it was the most precious thing in her room. She smiled as she saw it; she had pressed the flowers that Naruto had given her the day he left and hung them there, a constant reminder of who it was she was pushing herself for.

He was the one who could make it even better. If he was here, seeing her strive for him, that would make it better. But the knowledge that he was thinking of her would do for now. He knew he was, the flowers had been that promise. And he always kept his word. It was his ninja way. She she drifted off to an exhausted sleep, she thought of his face.

She slept very well.

* * *

_Meanwhile, far from Konoha..._

Jiraiya blew out a long stream of smoke, letting it drift away from him lazily. He rather enjoyed a good smoke, and it was a fantastic way to pass the time. And he had quite a bit of time to pass given the nature of his apprentice. Naruto, or rather Narutos, were working on a new exercise he'd given them, a simple one that had come to mind as Naruto pestered the sannin to teach him a new move. He was rather insistent, and Jiraiya had felt it only fair. For the last few months they had been focusing on some taijutsu training and the more academic side of things. History, tactics, etiquette. Naruto hadn't taken well to any of them, and although the grudgingly accepted his master's explanation that if Naruto intended to be hokage some day he would need to know these things.

He also dropped once that people like, say, Hinata, might be impressed by such knowledge. That little drop had made him almost eager. Almost. It was still grumbling whenever he announced the days lesson, and eventually the brat had worn him down and convinced his sensei to teach him something more flashy. Jiraiya relented, and told him to get some leaves.

He had been planning to wait, but the kid got persuasive, talking about how he needed to get stronger to save his friends. It was all very mushy and all very compelling, and all very very annoying. So, he put aside the booksmarts and decided to teach the something 'practical' and 'useful.' And also something that would keep him busy for awhile and leave Jiraiya to smoke, write, and 'research.'

He puffed out another burst of smoke as he looked at the hundreds of Naruto's in front of him and grinned. Tsunade would have a heart attack with that many Naruto around. Good thing his prankster days were behind him. What kind of mayhem could he have pulled with that? Naruto was a creative kid, and brilliant in his own way. He lacked the academic ability to study or really gain from studying or lectures. Which is why Jiraiya had learned to teach by doing. Etiquette? He took him to a local lord's place, told him to be exactly like his sensei. It had not gone over well the first few times but after awhile the kid picked it up.

So, when he told the kid he would teach him elemental manipulation, he knew that trying to teach him by explaining the theoretical principles and whatnot was pointless. He told him to make a bunch of clones, get some leaves, and get to work. It was fantastic. At this rate, he'd get done his new book in record time. And the kid?

Kid was one step closer to the wide-brimmed hat of the hokage.

* * *

_In a northern mountain facility..._

"Chidori!"

Sasuke drove his fist through the chest of another of the monstrous things. It was vaguely human, a slavering vestige of what it once was. Orochimaru's experiments were legion, and often they were not so much successes, and yet still not total failures. They were these wretched things; these squeamish glibbering monstrosities whose inhuman strength could not make up for their utter lack of intelligence, or sanity. These were Orochimaru's cast offs, his menagerie of horror. And Sasuke was stuck in the middle of it.

"Sakura!" he shouted, turning back sharingan eye piercing the cloud of dust and debris kicked up by the beast's attack. The blow was impressive; it had sent her flying back and into one of the walls of this narrow place. The hideout was a winding, castle-like structure, with thick rock walls carved out of the mountain itself. Sakura had been sent crashing into on one of them, and Sasuke felt as though someone had stabbed him in the heart as he searched. No, no, no, she was supposed to stay behind him. This wasn't supposed to have happened.

"I'm- I'm alright, Sasuke-kun." a faint voice said, causing his heart to soar momentarily before he regained his composure. His eyes saw what she'd done before the dust settled. Her arm one was encased in a red crystalline substance, surface slightly shattered from the blow. Her other arm had formed a spike of red crystal as well, and had hit the wall behind her.

She had used the spike to shatter the wall behind her before she hit it, allowing it to crumble more easily. It was a smart move, and Sasuke was struck by just how much better she had gotten. She was using that calculating mind in combat, and had the power to make it work. It was... beautiful.

"Sakura." he said, launching himself to her side. He helped her up, and she took his hand with a smile.

"It's alright, Sasuke-kun. I'm alright." she repeated, her heart pounding at the concern in his voice.

"I can see that."

He was grinning now, causing her to blush. She shook herself. This was not the time and place to start getting giddy like a schoolgirl. She tore her eyes off him and scanned the hallways, trying to remember how it is they'd gotten here.

"Seems that we're stuck in the middle of a prison riot." Sasuke said, eyes scanning the area as well. They were in a t-shaped hallway, and they already knew what was down one of the lengths. They had been sent here by Orochimaru, to pick up one of the prisoners stored here. He had not stated why, and Sasuke had not cared enough to ask. Sakura went along with him because she had no intention of staying alone with Orochimaru, or Kabuto, despite the fact that the latter was as close to a sensei as she had. Except Guren, of course, but Guren wasn't around either. She was back at her own hideout, watching her own group of monsters.

"Yes, but how much of the complex is affected, do you think?" she replied, falling into step behind him.

"Only one way to find out."

He picked up the pace, resting one hand on his sword. They were lucky, at first. The level they were on was not as heavily 'stocked' as some of the others. But that meant as they went lower they would likely be forced to deal with an increasingly large number of them, but at least they were the weaker of the bunch.

* * *

His sword was slick with blood of a veritable rainbow of colors, reds and greens the most commonplace color in these creatures, but blue and a rare orange or purple would show up sometimes as well once in a while. He'd lost count of how many he'd killed. He glanced back at his partner. Sakura was panting behind him; she was getting exhausted from all of this. He could not deny he was also feeling the strain. He was just better at hiding it.

They had gone down three levels in the structure. They could see the final exit. They could also see the last of the cursed mark beasts, blocking the exit with his bulk. From the looks of it, it was a near success; the beast showed signs of intellect. But it was a feral intellect, not the intelligence of sapience, behind those yellow eyes.

The creature was easily over eight feet tall, even hunched as it was. It's form was a strange combination of wolf and gorilla. It's snout was long, with oversized teeth that dripped with a strange ichor. Poison? Acid? Who knew, when it came to these things. It's arms were thick and muscled, with short and stout legs which told Sasuke it was likely not the most agile or fast of creatures, but it had a brute strength that could likely cause major damage. It was covered in a thick coat of black fur, soaked with blood and gore. But all that was almost normal compared to the creature's back: it was a shell-like carapace with a half-a-dozen writhing tentacles, coated in both fur and slime. The beast held another creature's chewed corpse in one hand, the creature's neck crushed.

And it simply sat there, staring at the two foolish morsels who had intruded into it's domain. It was not hungry, simply angry; it had eaten and had more then enough to get it's fill laying around, but these two had interrupted his gorging, and for that they would be killed. The beast snarled, tentacles continuing to twist and writhe behind it.

"I can't use genjutsu on it. It's mind is too warped, neither man nor beast." Sasuke said with a scowl. It was not something he was unfamiliar with; many other creatures had the same resilience to his genjutsu that this creature showed. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way."

"Yes, Sasuke-kun."

He smiled at her one moment, and was in motion the next. His sword crackled with power, lashing out across the creature's chest. Behind him, Sakura began hastily making hand signs, calling on the last of her stamina. The creature was slow to react, reeling back from the slice that tore through it's skin with ease. It was not used to such pain, and that drove it into a savage frenzy.

Sasuke brought his sword back, slashing across the creature's snout. Sasuke grinned as he saw his sword wet with fresh blood. Orange, this time, and then scowled as he saw the tentacles lash out for him. But he made no motion to dodge, bringing the sword down and slicing into the creatures arm. It was just now beginning to react.

"Shōton: Sakura Shuriken!"

The tentacles were reaching for him. A moment later they were halved in size, spraying orange blood wildly as they flailed. Razor sharp crystals, formed into the shape of cherry blossoms, impacted into the wall behind the beast and shattered. Sasuke had been right, there was no need to dodge. He smiled as his sword continued on it's journey across the creature, carving up the beasts arm, cutting through meet and bone as it did. Sasuke planted his feet into the chest of the beast and kicked off, channeling a burst of chakra into his soles as he did. The creature was sent flying back as Sasuke somersaulted and skidded back, ending up right next to Sakura.

The entire process had taken only a scant few seconds. The beast hadn't even time to react.

"Nice work." Sasuke said, snapping his blade to the side. He channeled a small bit of chakra through the blade, getting between it and the blood and causing the ichor to fly off with a dramatic splatter. And, just as quickly, he returned it to it's sheath.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." she replied with a slight blush, following him as he made his way towards the exit. The beast twitched as they passed by, causing her to scowl. She tossed another crystalline flower into it's snout, slicing through fur and bone. It stopped twitching. "For looking so strong, it wasn't very impressive, was it?"

"Disappointed, Sakura-chan?" Sasuke said with an approving grin. "Come on, lets just get out of here."

He hauled up a young man over his shoulder and led the way out. His hands and feet were bound in red crystal; Sakura's handiwork. He wasted no time in leaving, and Sakura was not far behind.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun." was all she said in reply. But inside, she was cheering. She had done a good job, he was happy with her. And that mad her happy.

So very happy.

* * *

She was beautiful.

He did not look at her often, and in truth he did not need to. The gifts of the sharingan were his, and that meant what he saw was his forever. He had seen her in battle, and that is when he found her the most beautiful. When her mind was racing, and she acted as soon as a brilliant idea sparked to life inside her brain. It was compelling, startling, and oh so very beautiful. It was a new Sakura, with purpose and power. She was learning to do without hesitation, to speak without fear.

And it was beautiful.

He adjusted the prisoner slung over his shoulder and pushed off another tree-branch. She kept pace with him, perfectly. It was not a hard push, nor was it his fastest, but it was still impressive that she was keeping up without any trouble. He had figured out that, in a way, he was her motivation and her vice at the same time. She could push herself for him, but when he held her back in a unique way. She couldn't keep up with him because she was always staring at him. Her goal was always to keep up with him but that goal was always moving, and it scattered in her mind.

But as she trained, and as she got stronger, she stopped following and started traveling in the same direction. Instead of focusing on him, she focused on where he was going. Where _they _were going. She was thinking of _us _instead of just him. He knew this because he could see it, and thought he let it show only rarely, he was watching her constantly. He was sizing her up, evaluating her, and watching her grow. She was as dedicated to him as always, perhaps even more now. But where once was infatuation was now loyalty. Where once was a crush was now respect. She loved him. Truly loved him.

Love was a vague term, he thought. It could be used for so many things, for so many degrees, and even when you could honestly say that someone loved another person it was totally unclear as to what sort of love that was. Conditional, unconditional, romantic, platonic. All the labels and even with all of them in any thousands of combinations you could not describe all the loves that people could have. But if you focused on just one love, maybe you could crystallize at least part of it. Sasuke had only one love to focus on, and he was beginning to see what sort of love it was.

He did not love her. Sasuke was honest with himself there, and it was both a conscious and unconscious thing. He had chosen not allow himself to love, and in turn he had not the capability to choose otherwise. Not on the path he had chosen. He found her beautiful, he cared for her greatly, and he enjoyed her company more then he could even admit. But that was not love. It had not the ethereal quality that could make it love. And he wasn't sure he ever would have it.

He wasn't sure he could love anymore. It was not a cliche thing, not some storybook tale where he had forgotten how. No, deep down he knew how to love, because he had loved before. In a fashion, he still loved. He loved his brother, because he was his brother. A descriptor of love and hate was too vague to be applied to the bond he shared with Itachi. But that shining beacon drowned out the others. Maybe, when his blade was wet with Itachi's blood, and that bright shining bond that blinded his emotions was gone, maybe then he'd see the path to love.

Or maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he was being too poetic for his own sanity. Maybe he wasn't, but he did know that Sakura would never leave his side, and he would not leave hers. It wasn't love, nor lust, nor loyalty. It just was.

He would kiss her when they got back to base, and thank her for all she'd done, and he would tell her that she could be with him forever. And she would be happy, and that would make him happy. And maybe, just maybe. Someday, he would love her.


	7. Part 1, Chapter 6: A Question of Why

**Author Note: **Thanks for all the the reviews, guys, nice to know people enjoy the story and also are helping point out some flaws. And, as a result, I'll explain some of my reasoning behind changes.

Why Naruto seems older is because, in a way, he is. Losing Sakura meant he lost a second part of himself instead of just Sasuke. She was his first crush, that first 'romantic' bond whereas Sasuke was 'brotherly' bond. He is more driven, and slightly older as a result. He is still very much Naruto, but he's got an even greater drive to get stronger and an even greater purpose.

On the other hand, Hinata is also taking a heightened role. But most people overstate her place as a 'clan heir.' She was basically kicked out of the clan in all but official name, you remember. She was not living at the compound, Kurenai had taken her off at her father's orders. What's more, I suspect there is actually very little to being the 'heiress' that people tend to write, and even though her father was shown to be far more accommodating and less of a dick, I still don't think there are many 'functions' that they are attending or anything of that sort.

As per training with Tsunade, it's as much fanwank as anything. Parallels don't need to be as such, no, but I just like the concept, and this entire story started as, honestly, a personal joyride into the my ideal changes to the story. It's also a way for me to get gratuitous with certain fight scenes, which I absolutely love to do. Same reason Sakura got her little power, though that was as much a plot point that actually will come up later when both Sasuke and Sakura wonder if the admiration being shown is because of the power, or because of the person. They'll draw different conclusions, as well, so that'll be fun to write.

On Sasuke, if you watch actually, he often was grinning, and even smiling during combat. He didn't sulk nearly as much as people often portray him as doing, and it's sort of a flanderization to see him as this very emo character. He's not emo, really, he's simply reserved. But when he was teasing, or in combat, he was often smiling or grinning. It wasn't excessively common, but it was there. In part 2, much of that seemed to go away, but then again he'd spent three years away from 'reasonable people' and spent it with Kabuto and Orochimaru for a majority of the time. In this, he has Sakura to keep him a bit more... cheerful, as much as Sasuke can be.

It's also why he seems softer. Note, it's all internal. I honestly think that Sasuke is not quite as cool as he puts off. He thinks, he analyzes, and he worries. But he almost never lets it show, and only rarely slips up and lets it get by. Part of Sakura's growth is noticing those little signs. But in a way, Sakura is also keeping Sasuke from changing too much, and he's going to begin relying on her far more, particularly shortly when... well, you'll see. Let's just say that her leaving with him isn't the only divergence from canon we'll be seeing.

Sakura's power, by the way, as referenced in her 'other sensei' thing is actually a version of the Crystal Release, or Shouton, that Guren had. She is an anime filler character, sure, but I enjoyed her and that arc more then I likely should have. But I did, and it fit my purposes. Originally, she was going to get a truly unique power, but I decided to avoid that slippery slope to mary sue-dom and instead simply give her an already existing power. However, much like Yamato's wood release is nowhere near the power of the First Hokage, Sakura's crystal release is only a lesser version of Guren's power. She simply backs it up with medcial knowledge and the like. Generally speaking, she lacks the ability to create the great crystal constructs or large structures of Guren, but has a precise control over creating crystal around her body.

That does bring me to a final point: this follows the anime more then the manga, given I have watched the anime far more then I have read the manga, and which is why the story will begin to slow down far more as I focus on smaller stretches of time and dialog goes up. You may notice that nearly every scene so far has, at most, two characters really, and even when it does it takes place nearly entirely inside the character's minds more often then not. As an exercise to me, this chapter will be dialog heavy, and give some updates on the other characters I've not written about much yet.

Also, as I've wanted to say this and have not a better place to do it: why, for the love of God, do people use Kami so blatantly? Kami can be loosely translated to god, perhaps, but people seem to use it as a stand in for actually saying GOD. Except this makes no sense. It is has more akin to spirits, in a way, or maybe a Greeco-Roman/Scandinavian sort of god in a VERY loose sense, but it certainly doesn't apply to an Judeo-Islamo-Christian conception of a GOD. In a way, you could say someone or something IS a kami, but you wouldn't just say Kami. I am guilty of gratuitous Japanese at times, but this is one mistake that irks me the most whenever I'm reading a story.

So, enough padding my page count and word count with lengthy notes, onward to the story!

* * *

"Why are you still here, Sakura?"

They had returned to Orochimaru's current hideout not long ago, rather roughly handed off the prisoner to Kabuto, and then retreated to their own quarters. Both of the ex-Konoha shinobi had rooms right next to each other, for convenience sake, of course. Neither of them knew the full extent of the hideout, and given that Sasuke had been taking Sakura with him when he trained or when on errands at an increasing rate it simply saved time having them close rather then having to hunt through the tunnels for her.

So, they had retired to their quarters. Or, at least, she had expected them to do so. Instead, he followed her into hers, something that made her heart pound in her chest and brain nearly fry itself as it thought of all the possible reasons, many of which would be highly inappropriate to speak of in polite company. He had not asked to come in, but she would have said yes. He knew that, not that he would have cared either way. He would have come in regardless. Then again, she never would have said no.

She wanted to say something, anything really, but her voice was gone. She felt like time was slowed as he waited, eyes closed, and then suddenly was there, with her. Her mind, usually so very fast, seemed to have a hard time comprehending the fact that he was holding her. He was talking to her, as well. Her mind seemed to snap back back as the words reached her and the realization of the situation dawned on her.

"Thank you." he had said, and then he kissed her.

She felt the blood rush to her face, her arms still hanging at her side as thoughts left her. This was not what she had seen in her dreams, not at all how she'd react. She had told herself she would throw her arms around him, and throw herself into the kiss. But instead, she simply stood, half limp, held up only by his strong embrace. She realized that her dream was escaping her, and she honestly didn't care. She found she had very few cares in the world at this moment, and that the world itself could likely burst into flames around her, and she still wouldn't have minded one bit. Unless it caused Sasuke to stop. At which point her unbelievable hate would likely have doused every flame in the entire world for a thousand years.

It could not have lasted more then a few seconds. He broken the kiss, eyes locking with hers. She had not expected this. Wanted, sure. Dreamed about, of course. She realized, however, that she never honestly seemed to think it would actually happen. She had been taken in by the strange limbo state, where Sasuke was always right there there next to her but never _with_ her. Nothing had prepared her for his sudden embrace, and she found that in all the scenarios she had played in her head she had not a single one to deal with this.

He let her go slowly, and then took a seat on her bed. For a moment, she considered throwing herself at him. But then he spoke, words that she had certainly not expected to her. Five little words that surprised her.

"Tell me about yourself, Sakura" he said, motioning for her to sit with him. And so she sat, and she began to talk.

And then, after a few hours of rather mindless chatter, they found themselves in each others arms once more. He was laying back in the bed, holding her loosely, a look of contemplation on his face. Sakura found it easier to speak this time around, but dared not to in fear of causing Sasuke to move or let her go. So they sat, in silence, until he asked that strange question.

It had blindsided her. She stared at him for a moment, and blushed bright crimson when he brushed one of her bangs from in front of her eyes.

"It's been a year. Are you really happy here?" he asked, honest curiosity in his voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun... why would you ask me that?"

She was confused. What sort of question was that? Was she happy?

"Are you happy?" he repeated, eyes locking with hers, expression suddenly very serious.

"Of course!" she shouted, then shrunk back slightly as she realized how loud she had been. "Of course, Sasuke-kun... this is exactly where I want to be. With you..."

She pulled herself closer to him for a moment, burying her face into his chest. But Sasuke was not so easily placated. He looked off into nothing for a moment, speaking up a few moments later.

"Why?" he asked, pulling her closer even if he didn't bother to look back down.

"What?" she asked, head snapping back up to look at him.

"Why do you love me?"

She sat there, staring at him for a long time. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to that question. Be it the shock of it all that had happened since they returned, the shock of the question, or a little from columns a and b, but she couldn't for the life of her actually formulate an actual answer to that. Shouldn't that be an easy question? She couldn't deny she loved him, she honestly truly did! But why? She... didn't know what at all to say.

Finally, he looked down at her, a soft smile on his face. "I don't know either."

And for some reason, she blushed.

* * *

"Why are you doing this, Hinata?"

She was at the hospital today, and had been supposed to be going over anatomy and the primary vital spots. It was a day of academics, as close to a rest as Hinata got most of the time now. If sh was not with Tsunade-sensei, training in medical or chakra control, than she was with her father, improving her grasp of the families Gentle Fist style. She was not anywhere near Neji yet, but she was getting better, and it was showing. Between her intense training and Kiba's intense retraining, Team 8 had essentially been put totally on hold. Shino was spending more time with his family as well. It was hard to be away from them for so long, such friends they had become to her. They made a point to meet at least once a week, and religiously made sure they did.

She was very busy. She was not, however, unhappy. But, it was tiring. And it showed, some days more then others, just how hard things were for her. But it was a happy hardship as it was one she had chosen for herself. But sometimes, like today, it was very difficult for her. And Tsunade-sensei could tell.

"Sensei? she asked, confused. She looked up from the book she had been reading. Or, at least, trying to read.

"I've seen your head bob constantly. You're fighting to stay awake." Tsunade said in a sharp tone, arms folded across her chest. "You've been doing that more often lately, too. And your chakra control is suffering. You're constantly fatigued, and don't try and say you're not because you know I can see it in you and tell when you're lying."

Hinata didn't lie. She said nothing at all, unable to formulate a response.

"Go home, Hinata. Go home and rest, and that's an order."

"B-but, Master, I-"

"Go home! You're not proving anything to anyone by staying and you're certainly not going to impress him if you're a wreck. You're taking two weeks off, no training at all. And if you try to get around that, I will drop you as my apprentice, are we clear?"

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sensei!" she managed out, but was still frozen in place. It was not until Tsunade let out a sharp Go! and motioned for the door that she shook herself and collected up her things, quickly heading out of the hospital. Tsunade watched her and sighed. She knew that Hinata was pushing herself far too hard, but she'd hoped that the girl would realize it on her own. She was a truly great apprentice. She did not pick up things fast, but she seemed to have a drive and will to succeed second to none. However, if she kept at this, she was going to burn herself out.

Tsunade would have to be more careful with her in the future. Hinata was falling into a dangerous trap, and failing to think about the consequences of her path. She would sit her down and have a long talk about that. Hopefully she would prove as receptive to that as she was to training and make some adjustments. Tsunade had every faith she would, particularly when informed that she would be no help to Naruto if she burnt out here.

The hokage frowned. The drive she had to help and impress him was truly remarkable. But dangerous. She truly hoped she could help the girl now, because she feared what might happen when he returned, and true danger arrived. Or rather, what she might do to herself.

* * *

"Why do you want to be hokage, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from his bowl, stream of noodles still hanging from his mouth. He stared at his mentor for awhile, mumbling something unintelligible for a moment that caused the white-haired toad sage to sweat-drop. The blond genin seemed to realize this and slurped up the noodles rather noisily. Jiraiya realized those etiquette lessons would need a refresher soon, causing him to grin. Kid wasn't exactly the tactful sort.

"What do you mean why, Pervy Sage? You know why!" Naruto began, causing his sensei to smile at the fire in his eyes.

"Humor me, Naruto."

Naruto paused for a moment to down some of the broth from his bowl, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Yes, they'd definitely need to go over those etiquette lessons again.

"Well, sensei. I want to earn the respect of everyone in the village, and have everyone stop disrespecting me! I want people to look up to me, instead!" he said with excitement, "And..."

"And?" Jiraiya eventually said, eyebrow raised. The kid had trailed off somewhat.

"And, well- I want..." he began, and yet seemed almost at a loss for words. Jiraiya was not used to seeing the kid like that, so much so that it almost worried him. "You see, I want to protect the village and- and I don't want anyone to ever have to live the way I did, believe it!"

It was Jiraiya's turn to be at a loss for words then. It was a strangely mature thing for him to say, but then again Naruto always had been somewhat caught between mature young adult and rambunctious teenaged kid. He showed surprising maturity deep down, but often it was covered up by the very much just as true playful nature on his surface. Naruto was, in a way, a hodgepodge of various traits, given he never had a childhood and so he imitated it in a way, and then by the time he had adult role models they could do only so much. But he already had to be somewhat mature inside.

It was part of what made him, as Kakashi called him, the number one most unpredictable knuckle-headed ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His 'upbringing' and childhood were fundamentally unlike almost anyone elses, and so he reacted like no one else. Even after all this time training and traveling Jiraiya had only just began to get a picture of the real Naruto.

The real Naruto was an extremely kind, caring, and friendly person who truthfully wished he could just be friends with most people, but lacked the practical experience or knowledge to do actually make it happen. He was rough around the edges and somewhat coarse, but he was also honest and direct. He was who he was, and was not ashamed of that. It was strange, with all the angry glares he'd received he had instead become prideful of himself, rather then ashamed.

The real Naruto cherished the bonds he'd formed and would go to any lengths for one of them. It was his dedication to Sasuke, his strongest bond, and to Sakura, his first attempt at a romantic bond. Both were friends, his closest friends, and his unpredictable nature struck again as it gave him dedication and drive far beyond what most normal people would do. Most would give up, accept that they had made their choices and had to live with them. You couldn't force someone to change. But Naruto knew that, he truly did. But he had faith, nearly religious really, in his friends. He truly believes that he could help them, and bring them back. Jiraiya had that sort of faith once, but it had been for naught. He would not let Naruto's faith end up the same way.

"Why the heck did you ask anyway?" Naruto said, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Not gonna laugh at me, are ya?"

Jiraiya held up his hands and chuckled, "No no no, kid. Far from it. I think it's a noble goal, and a fantastic reason. Reminds me of another of my students, really. Worked out pretty well for him... anyway, hurry up, will you? We need to get back to training."

Well, maybe not to unpredictable. The mention of training made Naruto double his pace. The toad sage had to laugh. Yes, they really would have to go over those etiquette lessons again.

* * *

"Why is he pushing himself so hard, Guy-sensei?"

Guy appraised his students carefully before glancing back. Fifty yards back, Lee was unleashing a flurry of axe kicks onto a downed log. He'd been at it for a few hours now, and Guy could just make out his cries of 'five-thousand, three-hundred, and twenty-seven!' and so on in the distance. The log, maybe six feet thick, was worn and beaten, with a smooth notch two-thirds a foot deep from the repeated blows. It was not too uncommon, he supposed. Except for the fact that it was five in the morning.

And Lee had been there when they left last night. At seven.

Guy turned back to his other two students. Neji stood behind Tenten, who had actually asked the question. They had changed their attire recently, both adopting more traditional robes. Neji's were the most suprising; traditional Hyuuga robes were the last thing he'd expected from the boy, but ever since his loss during the chuunin exams, Neji seemed like a changed kid. It warmed Guy's heart, really. He'd tried to get through to him, but it had taken the burning fires of Naruto's youth to truly light a flame under his ass.

But Neji wasn't the only of his students to change, though the other change was perhaps not totally for the better.

"You see, Tenten, Lee's youthful fire has simply been given a new fuel. But not all fuels burn clean, you see." Guy said, teeth shining. Tenten simply stared at him for a moment before sighing.

"Yes, Guy-sensei, but what does that _mean_?"

"Sakura Haruno left with Sasuke Uchiha." said Neji rather suddenly, and Tenten was surprised to find him watching actually watching Lee of all people. She could not help but notice the change he had undergone, as well. He actually seemed concerned about his teammate.

"Neji is correct, Tenten." Guy said, nodding thoughtfully, "The loss of a rival and love are strong blows. I can't even imagine what would happen if my cool cat rival Kakashi were to disappear."

That made Tenten sweat-drop even more then she already had been. Sometimes, she felt like she was the only sane one on the entire team. Guy had a truly amazing gift, though. Not his taijutsu or his fashion sense (_certainly_ not his fashion sense), but he had the amazing ability to say something without saying anything at all. At least he wasn't prattling on about the fires of youth.

"What Guy-sensei means is that Lee is upset at the loss, and that he was unable to help bring them back." Neji said, never taking his eyes off the younger of his spandex-clad teammates. "He's made a vow to himself that he will never let that happen again, and that he's going to become strong enough to bring them back as well."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "He promised he'd protect Sakura with his life. You should know how seriously Lee take's his promises."

All three of them turned to watch him. He was still going at it, picking up speed with each blow. Suddenly a loud, sharp crack filled the air, causing all of their eyes to go wide. Lee had fallen back, panting. But the log in front of him had cracked straight through the center, splintering off. And all of them could hear him shout, even over the exhaustion.

"Yosh! Now, three-thousand punches!"

* * *

"Why is this so damn hard?"

Of all the many things Naruto was, the one that nearly no one knew about him was the fact that he was a fairly accomplished gardener, who had picked up the hobby nearly at random. Some might say it was because he enjoyed the thought of nurturing a living thing, providing and tending to it, or they might say it was because it gave some beauty to a world that seemed to hate him. However, the truth of the matter was simple: the thought flowers were pretty and smelled good.

Being a gardener, he became fairly familiar with the so-called 'languages of flowers.' There were more then one, with some overlapping elements and meanings in each. It wasn't exactly his first priority to learn when he was gardening (though he had a fairly green thumb anyway.) But, after he'd begun spending more time with Hinata, he'd found himself picking up certain things. Eventually, when he began growing flowers for her to press and even talked with Ino about that shared interest he had picked up the meanings of various flowers. It's why he'd picked the flowers he'd given her before he left.

And now he found himself locked in an internal struggle. What flowers would he give her when he got back?

Why was he even thinking of this? He had months before they were going to go back, a fact which rather filled his heart with joy. He loved being out here, on the road with the Pervy Sage, but he loved his hometown more. He loved the streets and his apartment and Ichiraku Ramen Bar and the Hokage Monument that would one day hold his face. He loved it all! But what he loved most was the people. It was so strange. They hated him, or at least many of them did, but he still loved them. He was gonna prove them wrong, show them their conception of him was totally out of place. He was looking forward to going back and taking the next steps to being hokage.

But he still had no idea what flowers to get for Hinata. Knowledge, in a way, was a burden here. He knew what each flower meant, and he knew that she certainly knew as well. So, he was worried about sending the wrong message. He wasn't sure _why_ he was so worried or even what message was the wrong one. He cursed the moment he had become bored and the thought had just popped into his head. Now he was laying here in bed, unable to get it out of his head at all. His sensei was sprawled out in his own mat, snoring heavily, but Naruto had long learned to drown that out.

Now, all that kept him awake was his own mind.

Roses were right out, even given all their meanings. But that wouldn't be right at all, pretty as they were. Celandine came to mind, meaning joys to come. But he found himself worried by the implication that might bring. He certainly couldn't give her a coriander, a flower of lust. But perhaps daisies? Innocence, purity, faith, and cheer fit, but their meaning of simplicity was not quite right. And loyal love. For some reason, a red daisy came to mind. Beauty unknown to the possessor. He actually blushed at that thought. No, perhaps pear blossoms, for lasting friendship.

But for some reason he felt that wasn't enough...

And so he sat and pondered into the wee hours of the night. Eventually, exhaustion claimed him. However, he found it so very odd that he found the thought of giving her a bouquet of purple lilacs and red tulips, accented with honeysuckle. Maybe even some of those daisies and some lavender, as well. It would be pretty, even if it did represent the first emotions and declaration of love, as well as devoted affection, devotion, and trust. His sleep addled mind found that rather fitting.

He slept well, and kept his promise to Hinata. He thought about her even as he slept.

* * *

"Why are you so dedicated, Kabuto?"

Kabuto paused his grinding and looked up at his master. He had been gently using a mortar and pestle to work on some of his lord's medicine, but the question had caught him off guard Orochimaru was not a terribly introspective person. Kabuto was not blind, he knew Orochimaru had many flaws, and one of them was his somewhat narrow minded nature. He had a hard time thinking of others, it seemed, in a way other then how they were useful to him. It made him not the most thrilling conversationalist, but Kabuto hadn't pledged allegiance to him for that.

"Because you give me purpose." he said, turning back to his grinding with a grin on his face. "Why do you ask, Lord Orochimaru?"

He did not respond, and Kabuto would not repeat himself. He knew better. And so he put the exchange aside. There would be time to wonder about his Lord's mental activities later.

* * *

"Why are you being so troublesome, Ino?"

Ino Yamanaka had changed. Where once she wore rather fashionable clothing with less then half-enough cloth to actually cover her body, now she wore enough that she wouldn't freeze at the first breeze. Shikamaru chuckled at the thought internally as he looked her over. She'd donned an overcoat, much like her sensei, and ever since her elevation to chuunin she'd actually taken to wearing the standard vest they were issued. She wore a longer version of the outfit she'd always wore before, as well as taking on the ANBU-style gloves.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Shikamaru?" she asked, snapping her head around, a vein bulging as she did.

"I'm just saying, you barely come out anymore and now you look like a miniature version of him." he said, holding his hands up plaintively.

She grinned at him and responded teasingly, "Awh, does someone miss me?"

"Yeah, you know how Choji gets." he responded, not even breaking tone at all. Ino found that infuriating about him. He was so damn calm all the time, and hard to read. And ever since she'd started learning under Ibiki, she knew how to read people even better then ever. Her parents hadn't been thrilled, but she'd worn them down by her determination. Shikamaru, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to like it in the bit. Or did he? Grah, why was he so difficult?

She humphed at his response and turned back away, heading off for their weekly team meeting. Most of the original Team Ten had gone off for their various forms of training; Shikamaru and Choji with their respective families, and Ino with both Ibiki and her father. She had come along way in skill, and sometimes she seemed like a brand new person. And other times...

"Besides," she began, walking on without waiting for him to fall back line line with her, "I make this look good."

Shikamaru grumbled something about it being troublesome. Perhaps she hadn't changed so much after all.

* * *

"Oh, Jiro, why are you such a fool?"

It was a tragedy of common sense. The rakish troubadour and rogue Jiro had just pledged himself to discover the greatest song in the world to earn the right to court the beautiful and young Youko. It was an impossible task, one that would take him from nation to nation, mystical place to mystical place, and test the very core of his soul. He would be tempted greatly by pleasures of the flesh; luscious young beauties were so very easily drawn to him, and it was so very hard to beat them off. But he would have to struggle on. It would be worth it! Eventually, he would to get to the fantastically written three-chapter love sequence near the end of the book that made the previous dozen or so all worth it.

But what a fool he was! Kakashi could not believe it. Well, he could, actually. He had read this release of Icha Icha Paradise many times, but it never seemed to get old. And the characters never seemed to get stale. He often thought about finding some other books to read, but they just never matched up to this legendary work. But the truth of the matter was that he really simply liked the certainty of knowing what would happen and that in the end there would be no conciquences for the ill things done and the good guys would live happly ever after. He liked the fact that there were good guys, clear cut black and white, unlike the world he was forced to live with as a shinobi.

Kakashi used the books to cope. It was his thing, and he was immensely better of for it. Someday, he hoped to meet the author and tell him that.

* * *

"Why can't I love you?"

She was asleep. He was holding her, still, and after they had drifted back into silence the girl had managed to let exhaustion take her. He stared at her, emotionless mask back on his face even with no one around. She snuggled closer into his chest, and he had the strange thought of how cute the sounds were she made when she slept. Small things, little squeaks and other emotes. She'd even wistfully said his name a few times, and it made him wonder if that was because of where she'd fallen asleep or if it was a more regular occurrence.

Sakura had, in many ways, done more for Sasuke then almost anyone else had ever done for him. He had no shortage of people who wished him well or tried to help during his life, despite the fact he spurned their assistance more often then not. They were not helping him, they were helping his name, he knew. He might have savored the attention if it wasn't for that. It wasn't his attention at all. It was nothing but a lie. But Sakura, though starting off that way, had become more, and in the end she'd given up much of herself for _Sasuke, _not Uchiha.

She deserved to be cared for in that special way, to have three small words said to her by the one she had given up so much for. She did deserve that, and he was rather incapable of providing it. He would not say he loved her, because it would have been a lie like all the false sympathy he was given while growing up. How strange it was for him; he had nothing against manipulating people and tricking them, that was part of being a shinobi. But he cared about her more then he had realized at first, making such an option unappealing, even if she might have actually enjoyed the lie.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He cared for her too much to lie, but he could not bring himself to actually feel that way so he wouldn't have to lie. He'd invested too much of himself in his path as an avenger. No, not to much. He shook his head at at thought thought. He didn't regret anything in that, but for the first time he actually felt a regret about his leaving Konoha. But not a regret for him; it was a regret for her. What would have happened had he left her behind? What would she have become. What would he?

She would not have given up on him. He knew her well enough to know that. She would have chased him to the ends of the earth if it meant bringing him home. Just like Naruto.

He paused. He hadn't thought about Naruto for some time. He felt the unfamiliar pang of guilt in that, causing him to scowl. He shouldn't feel guilt for that. He found it odd that he did not regret finishing off the loser when he had the chance. He told himself it was because he didn't want to listen to his brother in everything, or because Sakura had begged him not to. But Naruto would not give up on the pair, he knew. He'd chase them down no matter what they'd said or did. Eventually, he was going to have to fight him again. And for some reason, that thought actually brought the peculiar feeling of fear up in him.

But he was escaping the topic at hand, which coincidentally was also in his hands. He was still holding her, and rather enjoyed that fact. He found the thought of not holding her unappealing. This annoying girl had weaseled her way into his heart, he had to admit. Her persistence was admirable, and perhaps that was it; she reminded him of himself in the chase, abet not quite as violent or with a goal some might say was more noble then his own, but he'd not heeded their advice to abandon it then. And neither had she, despite the fact that he had been easily something that could be described as a colossal jerk. And he was a jerk, he really didn't shy much away from that.

Sasuke had made peace with that part of him long ago. Or so he thought, at least. The loser and the annoying girl tended to make him rethink it slightly, and now she continued to have that almost infuriating ability to make him actually feel guilty. She had power of him, he realized, because of her very nature. She could make him worried, and she could make him smile. But most of all, more then anyone else, he trusted her. That was a rare thing in anyone's life, true trust. He'd found it in her, and maybe that was why he'd let her come.

But he did not love her. And that hurt.


	8. Part 1, Chapter 7: Reason to Fight

**Author Note:**

Thank you for the correction of my spelling of sensei, very helpful. I'll have to go back and fix that in the old chapters. Anyway, keep up the reviews! Toss the story around! Nothing motivates me more then seeing people enjoying the story. Also, because I judge my worth as a human on story hits.

Hahaha, is he joking? Haha... well on to the story!

Oh, one final thing before we do! This is going to be a very Naruto/Hinata focused chapter, and another one of my time jumps. In this case, we're jumping all the way into Part 2! Some Sasuke and Sakura goodness at the end, and next chapter will be all about them, so don't worry! We'll jump back and forth in the story. This is also a battle-heavy chapter, so do tell me how I managed to write it out, been awhile since I've had to.

* * *

The flickering of torches cast dramatic shadows in the open expanse of the cave. It was a very beautiful picture, both of the artists in the room would say. They would disagree, however, as to how it was best to utilize it. It was a discussion they often fell into, a sign of their peculiar sort of partnership and friendship that made them work so well together, despite bickering like an old married couple more often then not.

Even now, when facing nearly triple their numbers, they were bickering.

Naruto watched them with anger in his eyes, anger that made Kakashi worry. The two Akatsuki members were just sitting there, almost ignoring them, using what appeared to be the corpse of Sabaku no Gaara, as a couch. It infuriated even Kakashi, though he would not let it show. Such flagrant disrespect. But he knew Naruto had an even greater reason to be angry, and he was worried about that rage overtaking the boy.

Naruto, on the other hand, welcomed it.

That was Gaara, dammit. The Godaime Kazekage, Jinchūriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku, and a friend of Naruto who had become something to the young genin in a way no other person ever had been; Gaara was a glimpse into his possible future, a perfect example of what he might have become. And then, he became an ideal to strive for. He'd become the kazekage, and Naruto was both unbelievable happy and extremely jealous of that.

Something told him that Gaara was still alive. He had to be. He was not dead, he wasn't! He wouldn't let that be, he couldn't! They'd pushed so hard to get here, worked so much. He had torn through the man he thought was Itachi with his wind-element Great Ball Rasengan, only to discover it was a fake. But he had used that anger to push on, even ahead of the reinforcements from Konoha. But there was no time to wait! There was no stopping his drive, and Kakashi hadn't even tried to convince him. It would have gotten nowhere

They'd arrived to find the mountain sealed off, protected by the Five Seals Barrier. This, however, had not stopped Naruto at all. Hinata had eagerly used her byakugan to discover the locations of the seals, and Kakashi had supplied Naruto with a radio transmitter and watched as he created four clones that had quickly rushed off to the other seals.

They'd timed it perfectly, dispelling themselves right after the barrier went down and Hinata utilized the training she'd gotten from Tsunande to cause a massive spike of chakra to shoot through the boulder and crumble into nothing. It was flawless, perfect really. They didn't even realize that the second trap that had been laid out for them had never been triggered. The Kyōmen Shūja no Jutsu, or Mirrored Sudden Attacker Technique, could not create a mirror based upon what was already a reflection of the original; clones were not enough.

And there they were. Just... sitting there, bickering and debating the nature of art and the lighting. And Naruto was beginning to be a little put off.

"Get off him, you bastards!" he shouted, teeth flashing as he did. He could feel the rage building up inside of him. But they didn't move. They didn't even respond! They just sat there, acting as though he wasn't even there!

"No, my man, this lighting is nice, but it would truly become art in the presence of a big bang, that moment between darkness and light, and the explosion afterward, yeah!" one of the two said, gesticulating with his arm as he did. His other sleeve was bloody and ragged; apparently Gaara had gotten to him in their fight.

"You fool, true art lasts. This lighting would need to be preserved and sealed. That would be true artwork." the hunched man said, looking somewhat irate. They'd been at this for some time now. His young associate just did not understand art.

"Get off him!" Naruto shouted, yanking a scroll from his belt and letting it unfurl. With a small blast of smoke an oversized shuriken appeared, and was quickly sent flying directly at the pair. He too was become rather irate. How dare these bastards do something like this? They just sat there acting all nonchalant while using Gaara's body as a stool?

The shuriken was deflected without any trouble, a metal tail snapping up to deflect it. Sasori spoke without turning. He spoke in an annoyed tone, "My associate and I are having a discussion."

And that was the final straw for Naruto. He launched himself at them, hands coming up to form the signature hand sign he was known for. He was just about to fill the room with clones when Kakashi shouted, "Naruto, stop!"

Much to the others surprised, he did. Still shaking in anger, he held himself back, heeding the wisdom of his old sensei. Deidara grinned, "The Jinchūriki is the one who screams and charges in first, yeah? Looks like Itachi wasn't just being funny, Sasori, my man."

"So it seems." his compatriot said, turning his head to stare at the boy. "Don't even think about it, Deidara."

"Stop what, my man?" Deidara said with a knowing grin, causing Sasori to glare.

"You've gotten yours, this one is mine." he replied. And then the tail was in motion, rushing straight for Naruto as it moved.

* * *

Hinata Hyuuga watched the display with concern. She had been worried, but supportive. She understood his drive quite well. He had lost too much that was precious to him to turn back, or be dissuaded from his mad rush. But there was more to it then that. She knew Naruto wanted something else from the pair, something they'd discussed while waiting for Kakashi's nin-dogs to return with news. Finding Gaara meant more then just rescuing someone precious to him. It also meant that they would have some members of Akatsuki within his grasp. Orochimaru had been a member, and he wanted answers for that more then anything.

She had once promised to help him do whatever it took to bring his former teammates home. This was an extension of that. That was their ninja way; they always kept their word. Always.

But she was worried now, seeing Naruto so angry. She had learned his great secret not long ago, and she hated her self for being scared of it. She truly knew that Naruto was not the creature, and in many ways it made her even more amazed by him. But she feared what would happen if his anger overcame him. But no, he could handle it. She knew he could. He was Naruto, and she began to curse herself for doubting him. He was keeping it at bay, and that was an amazing thing. She was caught between a subtle fear and great admiration; between terror and wonder.

"Get off him, you bastards!" he shouted, causing her to flinch slightly, and frown. She had never seen Naruto this angry. It worried her, but also, in a way, made her even more drawn to him. Another example of his spirit she so admired; how fiery he got when defending those precious to him.

When Naruto launched his attack she almost instinctively activated her byakugan. As the tail snaked out to deflect the shuriken she became very confused for a moment. She could read the blond-haired Akatsuki's chakra network with ease; it was standard, for the most part, except with a strange extra pulse through his one remaining arm, and a greater pulse then normal over his heart. But that was not what worried her. Instead, it was his partner's chakra network.

Or lack there of, actually. She couldn't see it at all, simply a blazing flame of chakra with some streams running through the body but in a manner totally unlike that of a normal chakra network. She became so confused that she nearly missed Naruto's attempt at a headlong charge. She jumped slightly as Kakashi shouted, bringing her back to the moment. Her eyes drifted to Naruto again, watching him closely, and noticing as small spikes of abnormal chakra began to spike through his body.

"Naruto." she whispered softly, watching as his eyes began to change. Her mind drifted back again, to a scant few hours ago, as an important revelation about the boy she was following came to light.

* * *

_A few hours ago..._

Hinata was watching Naruto closely. This was not particularly uncommon, though. She often found her eyes drawn to him. But this time there was more to it then that. She was watching him because she had found out something about him that terrified her. But it was a strange terror, not of him but of what he carried. Not that he might do something, but that the thing inside of the blond-haired genin might do something to him.

He was pushing on ahead now, and she knew it was not the time to try and talk about this revelation. But there were so many things to say to him, so many things that became clear to her now. So many apologies for her to make. So many things she had left undone that could have helped him. But there would be a time for that, if she could bring herself to do it. The thought of that honestly terrified her even more.

Even talking to him more freely had not made it easier for an subject of feelings to come up. Even after he had given her that bouquet of flowers when he and Jiraiya had returned, a wonderful mix of beautiful flowers she had planned to press into another piece of memorabilia. She would hang it right next to the first flowers she had gotten. But this meant more, even if she couldn't believe it. He had said nothing, simply that he was glad to see her again. And that he had kept her promise. She knew what he meant, and that only made the message from the flowers more daunting.

But she had said nothing. She had wanted to so badly, and had just thought she had the courage to when the news had come in about the attack on Sunagakure and, more specifically, the attack on their Kazekage and Jinchūriki, Gaara. Now, she found herself following Naruto into the unknown alongside an elder shinobi of Suna, Chiyo, said to be a rival of sorts to her own Tsunade-sensei. Naruto's jonin-sensei, Kakashi was also with them, and it was thanks to his nin-dogs that they had found Gaara at all. From what they'd heard her cousin and his team was also on the way, but Naruto's pace was nearly too fast for even the people with him to follow.

She would just have to push herself harder, though. She would not let him down, not now when he had just returned to her, and certainly not in this chance to help fulfill the promise she'd made. Damn whatever was inside of him, he was still Naruto-kun, and she would not let anything get in the way of keeping her word. That was their ninja way, and she was going to prove it!

* * *

_A few hours later..._

The fight was beginning to get brutal. Naruto had dodged the strike, razor sharp edges slicing through cloth but leaving him only just unharmed. Chiyo had shouted something about being careful, and that each and every inch of every one of his weapons would be drenched in poison. His face twisted into a feral grin as he moved, launching himself into the fray.

"Well, then I just can't let him hit me, now can I! Thanks, grandma!" he shouted back, causing her to scowl. Chiyo watched him dance, bleeding off clones like he was hemorrhaging them, using them to shift and dodge at odd angles, slipping under strikes and attempting desperately to get in close.

"Naruto, wait! He's-" Hinata shouted, trying to figure out how to word the strange thing she'd discovered with her clan's kekkei genkai.

"Not your concern right now, yeah!" came an interrupting voice. The one armed Akatsuki stood now, one hand digging through one of the pouches on his hips. He scowled slightly; he was getting dangerously low on clay. He would have to make due.

Kakashi wasted little time in raising his hitae-ite and revealing the sharingan hidden beneath. His eye focusing in on Deidara. Hinata frowned, veins near her eyes bulging. The twin doujutsu of Konoha focused in on the Iwa missing-nin, causing his grin to get even wider.

"You will not get between me and Naruto." Hinata said, tone infused with certainty of unknown origin. She did not know why a sudden feeling of confidence ran through her. But even still, she found herself concerned about Naruto; her byakugan gave her nearly three-hundred and sixty degree vision, allowing her to watch him and her opponent. But it would split her focus.

"Naruto can handle himself." Kakashi said, as if reading her mind. He did not add the 'I hope' he heard run through his head, knowing that would do no good. "Simply keep your focus. We can stop him. That's all that matters now."

Deidara watched as they activated their special eyes with an even greater grin, "Hey hey hey, both of you have those special eyes, yeah? My lucky day, good warm up for when I go after the one I really want, yeah!" he said, mind instantly returning to his defeat at Itachi's hands. He had trained hard after that, and what a perfect time to test it. Sure, he knew these two couldn't compare to Itachi, but they were something. Hard to find sharingan users to test it against, after all. And the girl? Well, it wasn't quite the same, but experience was experience, yeah?!

Meanwhile, Naruto was pressing himself even harder, but making little progress in his attempts to strike the puppet armored Akatsuki. Each time he got close he was forced to break off the strike, often having to sacrifice a handful of clones to escape from the strikes. Chiyo watched with fascination. The puppet that Sasori was using had been modified, but some of it's origianl tools seemed to be unused: he was not using his needles nor the strange weapon on the puppets arm at all. His attacks seemed less like killing blows and more like attempts at deflection, warding away the opponent. Even the aggressive strikes were still rarely filled with lethal intent.

She was confused, mind racing. She had dragged Gaara off somewhat, to as safe a place as she could get, but never took her eyes off her grandson. She watched and pondered, and then it struck her as to why he was seemingly on the defensive: Sasori was a poisoner, but those were useless against his current opponent. Or rather, he was unable to use them. He could not kill the Naruto because he was his prize. He had to be taken alive. His strikes were warding blows as he thought out a plan!

"Naruto!" she shouted, hands snapping up as she did, "Rush straight in, he won't strike you!"

Sasori stiffened for a moment as they figured it out, he would have to think fast if he was going figure out a plan to disable the jinchūriki. It was, however, not fast enough.

"Rasengan!"

The next thing he knew was a sudden cracking sound as the glowing blue sphere slammed into the heavy shell on his back, warping and twisting under the powerful attack. The structure of the puppet began to creak and crack as the swirling energy shook apart the puppet. Naruto had managed to sneak in above the puppet master and come in from the top, slamming his signature attack straight into his foe. Hiruko was done for.

But Sasori was not beat yet.

* * *

Hinata watched the one-armed Akatsuki closely, pondering the strange influx of chakra into his hands. She hadn't ever seen anything quite like the exchange, a fact which caused her to worry. However, she was not about to let him finish whatever it was he was doing and rushed at him, lashing out with one of the Gentle Fist opening strikes. A blue flash of chakra lit up around Deidara, and he juked to the left to avoid it, then began leaping backwards as she began an advancing series of strikes.

Kakashi stood back, watching as Hinata began her inexorable advance on the foe. He couldn't help but notice the greater confidence she was moving with. 'A reason to fight,' he thought, 'is a powerful tool.'

The opponent was clearly a long range fighter, given how he was constantly trying to put distance between himself and the Hyuuga. Failing at it, as well, he noted. It was not Hinata's speed that seemed impressive, but rather the foes ability to evade. Kakashi could tell the foe's grin was wavering, and began running through options. He needed to see his opponents move before he could react.

He did not have to wait long. Deidara managed to push off from a rock while evading one of Hinata's attacks, and caused her to stumble ever so slightly. His arm snapped out as he launched himself back, "Now I'll show you that real art-" he began, countless white dots scattering in front of him as he did. Moments later, they expanded, revealing their small spider-like forms.

Hinata looked up with shock in her eyes. Kakashi's sharigan widened as he watched, instantly comprehending what sort of attack it was.

"Hinata-" he began, only to be cut off by the one-armed Akatsuki.

Deidara brought his hand up in front of his face, eyes wide with excitement, and shouted, "IS A BANG!"

Explosions laced through the cave.

* * *

_Meanwhile, a small distance away..._

Neji pushed himself from another one of the branches, veins near his eyes bulging as he watched the fight from afar. They had fallen behind, it seemed, and Kakashi's team had already begun the fight. They seemed to be holding their own, and had the numerical advantage. But they would need help to finish it completely. He scowled at the thought of their delay due to that strange decoy that had fought even Guy-sensei to a standstill.

His eyes suddenly grew wide as he watched Hinata stumble and the Akatsuki she was fighting surround her with strange chakra-infused balls. And then-

"Lady Hinata!" he shouted, causing the other members of his team to stare at him with concern.

"Neji! What is it!" Guy shouted, but Neji did not reply. He simply watched as the explosions surrounded Hinata and detonated.

* * *

The cloud of dust and smoke was massive, causing Deidara to smile. That was a beautiful example of his art, if not one of his best. But all his work was beautiful, a true testament to his skill as an artist. He could not help a grin as Sasori's armor cracked and shattered. 'So much for true art lasting forever.' He'd finished off one of his opponents, it seemed. Now, just one left to-

"Rairyōken!"

The cloud swirled and dispersed as the glowing form of a hound leaped through it, crackling like lightning. It howled and rushed for Deidara, giving him not even a chance to dodge as it slammed straight into his chest, causing the blond-haired 'artist' to scream in pain. Electricity coursed through his body and sent him flying back. He slammed into a wall with a heavy crack and the air rushed from his lungs. The lightning dispersed and he fell, slamming into the ground with another crunch.

He looked up slowly. Apparently he had underestimated one of his opponents. But then his eyes filled with rage as the dust and smoke began to disperse. Standing in the same spot as before was a panting and slightly scorched girl. The girl he'd surrounded with explosives. She hadn't even moved!

"H- how could you survive my beautiful art, yeah?" he managed, still panting.

She shifted slightly, slightly shaky from the chakra she'd put into the defense, but assumed another of the stances.

"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō." she said, panting a moment before continuing, "Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms! My own justu, which was made to target things even smaller then your little bombs."

His eyes began to scan the room. She'd sliced up many of the explosives, and sent others into the walls with small needle-like pulses of chakra. It hadn't defused them, but it had kept them away from her for the most part. It would seem he had underestimated both of his opponents.

Kakashi was still standing back, one arm bracing the other. He too was attempting to catch his breath, hand still crackling from the attack. Like the chidori or raikiri, it caused a constant drain of chakra while active, and that had been his first time using the ability in combat. He was, however, pleased with the effectiveness. He grinned beneath the mask. And then he collapsed.

* * *

Naruto had leaped back as the explosion filled the cave, filling it with dust and smoke. His eyes became frantic for a moment, worry filling him. He couldn't lose them too. He couldn't lose Hinata! He began to shout. "Hinata! Kakashi-sensei!"

But then he found himself in awe as his eyes found her. Hinata was moving faster then he could see, chakra streaming off her like water. It danced around her in lines and darts, slicing and piercing the explosive spiders as they closed in. It was beautiful, the way she danced and moved without even leaving her spot. She had improved since the last time, and she had become beautiful.

His mind froze for a moment as he realized what it was he was thinking. He'd been doing that far more often lately...

* * *

_A two days before..._

She moved with purpose and precision.

Naruto watched from a distance as Hinata ran her palms over Kankurō's chest, hands glowing ever so slightly with the blue-green chakra of the Mystical Palm. Her eyes were wide, byakugan active as she looked at the suna-nin and tried to track the poison. One hand pulled back, reaching into the bin next to the operating table and placing it against the treated water she had prepared for the extraction. With a swift motion she tagged a few points around his neck, causing him to go limp.

"It's only temporary." she said lightly, but with a confidence in her voice that made Naruto surprised, "It's to keep you from struggling. Please bear with the pain."

She retracted her hand from the tub, dragging along a bubble of the water, and began to extract the poison. Kankurō's face winced in pain, but it lucky he was not thrashing about. Hinata flowed from one point to the next, spheres filling up with a foul looking substance that was quickly sealed away. Naruto watched how she moved, graceful even in this. It was-

Beautiful.

* * *

"He's not human."

Naruto was shocked by those words. Why the hell woulds she say that? Hinata was staring off, focusing on something he couldn't see. It was the last thing he expected to ever hear from her.

"His chakra is abnormal, nothing like a humans at all." she continued, frowning, "I have no idea what he is."

It was Chiyo who spoke next, frown on her face as she processed the information. "He isn't human anymore. He's something more."

Naruto turned to where they were staring, finally seeing what it was they were talking about. A young man with a head of red hair stood there, cloaked in a white robe. Naruto stared into his bland eyes. The man seemed almost bored.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Sasori." Chiyo replied, various things suddenly clicking in her head. He hadn't aged one bit since he disappeared, still boyish in his looks. Given what the girl with the byakugan had said it became very clear to her what he'd done, and it made her truly appalled. "He's turned himself into a human puppet."

Naruto simply growled, "I don't care what he is, he's going down!" he said, launching himself into the air. His fingers crossed and a horde of clones appeared, only to find most of them suddenly impaled by a series of strange metal spikes. They disappeared into a puffs of smoke, and Naruto had barely enough to time to dodge. The spike tore into his clothing and into his shoulder, sending blood spraying into the air.

"Naurto!" Hinata shouted and rushed out to attack Sasori as Naruto was thrown back. Chiyo shouted for her to stay back but the elder suna-nin's words fell on deaf ears as the Hyuuga threw herself at Sasori with reckless abandon. It was then that she noticed the other figure floating behind Sasori, obscured by a strange chakra-filled haze. She tried to strike Sasori in the spot his chakra was strongest, right where his heart was supposed to be, only to have the blow intercepted by what felt like an iron wall.

Which was because it was an iron wall. Hinata suddenly found herself flying backwards, pressed against a massive block of metal. As she slammed into the wall of the she felt the wind fly from her. She hadn't even time to scream as a series of senbon impacted into her body, causing her eyes to go wide. Sasori simply stared.

"What a foolish mistake. The poison is fast acting. You'll be dead soon." he said in a simple monotone, eyes turning to focus on Chiyo. "What will you do now, Chiyo-baachan?"

And then something behind him exploded.

Sasori spun just in time to see a red-eyed Naruto lunge at him with a purple sphere in hand. His body was surrounded by a cloak of red chakra, twin tails waving behind him as he lunged. The iron sand haze seemed to spark and ignite as it came in contact with Naruto's cloak of chakra, burning bright blue-white as he leaped. For a split second the artist inside of Sasori wished he could preserve that image forever, so beautiful was it. He threw himself to the side in a mad attempt to evade. He failed, the large rasengan tearing into the right-side of the puppet-master's body.

The fox-tailed Naruto landed in a crouch and shot off like a rocket, racing along the walls. He was so full of rage he could only barely think straight. His mind narrowed down to a single line: he had hurt Hinata. Hinata was going to die. The man has poisoned Hinata. He was a bad man for doing this, he was going to die for this. Naruto was going to kill him. Naruto was going to _destroy_ him. He would destroy both of them for trying to hurt Hinata. He was going to tear them apart!

Deidara couldn't even track Naruto's movement as he ran around the length of the cave, racing towards him. He threw up his arm, attempting to release a wad of clay as the twin-tailed beast approached him. The next thing he knew was searing pain as the creature ran by; it took a moment for his brain to register that his remaining arm had been torn from it's socket.

Sasori's body creaked as he pushed himself up with his remaining arm. The cable in his stomach had been snapped and frayed, along with one of the razor-blade wings. Worse yet, his chest had been torn to shreds; there was no way for him to trump card hundred puppet performance, his Red Secret Technique. He flopped over onto his side, eyes registering the horrible crimson glow racing towards him. His arm reflexively came up, massive stream of water shooting from the nozzle at insane pressures, sending Naruto flying backwards. He impacted the ceiling with a terrible crunch, water pushing all the way through and sending him flying up into the sky.

Chiyo had rushed to Hinata's side as she fell, frantically trying to dig her out of the pile of iron sand that had collapsed onto her when Sasori's puppet was destroyed. She dug with haste, eye wide when she finally found Hinata beneath it all. She was barely breathing, body bleeding in several places. One of her arms seemed broken, laying limply at her side. Her other hand clutched a strange injector, emptied of liquid

Hinata struggled a smile as she looked at Chiyo.

"I- I- managed- to make an- antidote." she said before drifting into unconsciousness. Chiyo's eyes hardened, palms pressed against the girls chest and glowing with green light. No, no, no. She was not going to die here. Chiyo would not let the girl do that. She had too much to do. The boy needed her. She would not let her die.

She did not notice the impending attack. Sasori's arm moved stiffly, focusing in on the injured Konoha-nin and her elderly medic. Sasori, however, did not see the attack either. He rather suddenly found himself buried in the ground, his neck the only thing above the ground, and a rather angry looking ninja crouched in front of him.

"Now now, it's bad form to attack someone while their down." Kakashi said with a trace of sarcasm.

* * *

Deidara took this as his chance to leave. He made a run for the mouth of the cave, only to find his path suddenly blocked off. A robed man with the same white eyes as the girl led them, alongside two ninja clad in the most offensive green spandex suits he had ever seen, and a girl toting a rather large summoning scroll. To his credit, Deidara knew when he was beat. No clay to eat, no arms to do jutsu, and he was no close range fighter like these seemed to be. He stopped in his tracks and grinned.

"I surrender, yeah. I'd raise my arms, but..."

* * *

Naruto still looked rather feral as he crouched next to Sasori's head. He had landed some distance away and rushed back on all fours. As he launched himself into the cave he was suddenly set upon by someone he had not expected. Kakashi had slapped a slip of paper onto his forehead that had made him feel very very weak all the sudden.

He had recovered soon after, the red chakra receding. He was still angry at first, until, of course, he Hinata came over to him. He had sat, dumbstruck for a moment, before throwing himself at her and grabbing her in a massive hug. To her credit she did not faint, though she did turn seven different shades of red as he held onto her and told her how he'd thought he had lost another person precious to him.

Kakashi had to break it up, motioning towards the mostly-buried Sasori and his arm-less partner. Team Gai had tied up the blond-haired man, despite his armless state, mostly to add insult to injury, and it did not go unnoticed. Deidara glared at Naruto.

"Ey, you tore my only arm off, hn? How the hell am I supposed to make art now?" he said angrily, causing Sasori to sigh.

"I do not think we are really in a position to argue here, Deidara. Now hurry up and get with the interrogation. I hate waiting."

* * *

_A short time later..._

Naruto watched with the scene with a smile on his face. They were surrounded by nearly a hundred Sunagakure shinobi, the air filled with cheering. Their kazekage was rescued, alive and unharmed. Naruto watched with amusement as a cute girl with her hitae-ite around her neck rushed and hugged Gaara, causing a strange moment of confusion to cross his face. Naruto laughed slightly as he watched his friend, slowly letting it drift off as he watched.

They had managed to extract some very useful information out of the captured Akatsuki, though they hadn't seemed to know much. Ibiki might be able to drag more out, but Kakashi had said he doubted it. But, at the very least, Sasori had seemed almost eager to supply them with information on his spy in Orochimaru's organization. But even that news had not made Naruto as happy to learn something that Deidara had just let slip out.

They'd interrupted whatever strange ceremony or extraction process a day early. This was something unexpected, and one they hadn't really known how to deal with. With a bit of prodding they had drug out that the Akatsuki had intended to simply kill the interlopers. They had not expected to be interrupted .

Gaara was dangerously low on chakra, but it seemed as though the Shukaku had not been extracted after all. Some healing for internal injuries and time had been all he needed. He had come around just in time for a rather large number of suna-nin to arrive.

"I'm a bit jealous." he said, causing Hinata to look over to him.

She smiled, and moved closer to him, swallowing hard for a moment as she did. Tentatively, she reached out, finally grabbing onto his hand. She looked down shyly, face flushed, and he turned to her with a surprised look on his face.

"Hinata?"

She managed to bring her face up to look at his, and smiled through the blush. "I'm sure you'll be there some day too, Naruto."

He found himself staring into her lavender eyes for a moment, lost. And a single word came to his mind.

Beautiful.

* * *

_Elsewhere..._

Sasuke was sitting in silence, soft flicker of candle light casting dancing shadows across the room. He was deep in thought, dressed in a loose-fitting robe. He had spent the day in personal training, Orochimaru and Kabuto both had left on some unknown job. He was not bothered by that. Sasuke was rapidly approaching a period in which there was little more for him to learn from the Whites Snake, and Sakura's training with her artificial kekkei genkai had taking precedence over Kabuto's instruction. Soon, Sasuke would not need them any more.

Orochimaru was getting worse, as well. His body was deteriorating faster and faster, reaching the limits of it's ability. Sasuke mused at how a genius could have invented such a flawed jutsu. It was foolish, really. It left him so weak as to be useless, and a new body every three years? What a fool he was. He was giving Sasuke all the time he needed to prepare, and Sakura's foolish request had turned into a great boon.

Speaking of which...

Her arms wrapped around his neck from behind, drapping down across his chest. She pressed herself closer to him, head resting against his shoulder as she whispered, "Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke grinned, eyes closed, as she did. They had begun sharing quarters often, though he had rather purposefully not taking full advantage of that situation. He had told himself he was saving it for morale purposes, but a subtle nagging thought in the back of his mind reminded of him of three small words that he had never said, nor had been able to bring himself to say. He shook that thought from his mind and brought himself back to the present.

"Soon, Sakura, we'll make the move." he said, eyes flashing open. She pressed harder into his back and smiled, "Be ready."

* * *

**Translation Notes:**

As far as I gather Rairyōken _should _mean Lightning Hound. Not entirely certain on that translation, so if anyone has a better translation of Kakashi's attack, I'd appreciate it.

Shōton means Crystal Release, by the way.


	9. Part 1, Chapter 8: The Progress We Make

_At one of Orochimaru's hideouts..._

She held up her arm, stretching it out in front of her. The sleeveless red tunic and short-sleeve white undershirt being a practical choice as much as for fashion. She held her elbow at an angle, staring at her lightly tanned skin. She had never been so tan before coming, but the hours of training and time spent outside had darkened the skin ever so slightly. She blushed for a moment as she remembered Sasuke's compliment of it a few days ago. He had said it 'looked good on her,' and had caught her just like anything he said could.

Sakura shook her head and brought herself back to the moment, focusing on the arm and drawing her chakra through it. There was a time for swooning, and a time for her drills. Sasuke had told her that too, abet in a much cooler way. He always was cooler about it. He often would come and watch her, saying nothing at all more often then not. Sometimes he would compliment her after a particularly impressive display, and sometimes he would reprimand her for poor performance. He was never cruel and never superfluous, always direct in his comments and praise. He had learned not to be so hung up on his words, but in private she was always still happy for them. It was not unless he complimented her looks or something of that sort that she truly returned to her flustered state.

She slowly began sucking in breath as she visualized the effect she wanted, calling on the gift locked within her blood. She watched as strange beads began to appear on her arm, color a light red to the point of almost being pink. They began to grow in size slowly, gathering up in geometric shapes at first and then began spreading out and upwards. The crystal structures grew all around her arm, shifting and changing, and eventually beginning to blossom into perfect crystalline representations of her name sake bloom. She smiled.

She was getting better at this.

She carefully brought the hand over the opposite shoulder and then sharply snapped it out. The blossoms detached as she did, but they did not go off flying into the distance. Instead, they began to whirl around her following the vague movements of her fingers slightly as the twirled about. And, just as fast, she snapped her fingers forward. Dozens of crystalline flowers went racing forward. They sliced into the target dummies, cutting deep and embedding into their surface. The razor-edged flower blossoms were something of a signature to her now. When they spun they could slice through almost anything, but she had only recently been able to get them to stick instead of shattering when they hit a solid object. It was a notable improvement.

Sakura had learned to focus on hardening them. It was a balancing act, however. She had to balance the hardness and density to be enough to stick without being too hard or too soft. Too soft and it would fly fast but shatter easily. Too hard and it would fly slow and get stopped. Gradually she gained the ability to modulate the hardness by judging the object she was throwing. She had always been a smart one with sharp eyes, Sasuke had said. He had praised her had gotten it down. Now it was second nature to her.

Growing the crystal out of her body was easy, but she had been working on something more. She was going to get it down. She wanted to be better, not just for Sasuke but because she owed it to herself. She had found that strange at first, how she began to train for more then just his praise and approval. She did not have it unconditionally nor did she want it, but more and more she had found that she wanted to approve of herself as well. Not to say her desire for his approval lessened at all, of course. It hadn't. It was simply supplemented now.

She crossed her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. Slowly but surely she began to control the chakra flow in her body, letting her tenketsu pores open more and more. Chakra began to flow out of her, contacting and mingling in the air around her. She began to draw the particles in the air, the moisture and the dust and everything else which surrounded her, and drew it together with her chakra. Crystals began to bud on her skin again as they also began appearing in the air around her, smaller then those grown directly on her skin; simple singular petals instead of full blossoms. But they were just as sharp, and deadly fast. The smiled. She was getting it down.

She snapped both of her arms away, sending both arms of crystal blooms off, joining the ruby petals that were dancing around her. She snapped her arms back forward, fingers outstretched, and unleashed hell.

The razor-sharp blades shot forward, spinning and whistling as they did. Impacts against the stone behind the half a dozen wooden dummies echoed through the room; the sounds of shattering crystal, cracking concrete, and breaking wood. She was breathing heavy, tenketsu rapidly closing off from the exertion and chakra reservoir half drained.

And then, slowly but surly, the dummies began to fall apart in thousands of pieces and splinters. Sakura smiled.

She was getting better.

* * *

_Nearby..._

Suigetsu, Karin, Jūgo.

It was a balanced team, and that's why Sasuke had picked them. They each brought a unique skill to the party, and would compliment his own style quite well. He knew were each of them were, and he knew that he could get all three of them to follow. There was no worry in that, really. The only actual concern was Karin's rather unwanted advances towards him. She reminded him of Sakura in her early days, back before she'd proven she had some use. And it was that nature which made Sasuke worried ever so slightly.

Sakura and Karin would not get along. They hadn't before in the few times they'd worked together on the behast of Orochimaru. It was where he'd gotten first hand experience with her abilities and came to appreciate their usefulness, though the was less useful, by far, when it came to actual combat. And, of course, her infatuation with him was rather annoying. He ignored it, as any acknowledgment of it likely would have just made things worse. But Sakura was unlikely to be so forgiving.

He adjusted himself on the bed, moving out of the cross legged meditation stance he'd been in as he sorted through his memories and planned the future moves. It was not an uncommon thing for him to do. He found it soothing to go over his plans again, making sure to work out what kinks he could and straighten up the loose ends. He knew it wouldn't all work perfectly, but there were certain things he could rely on. Like Sakura.

She had come a long way, Sasuke could admit. She was no longer an annoying little girl with unused potential. Now she was becoming a rather powerful woman, with confidence and skill in equal parts. She had a sharp mind and sharper eyes, and she was starting to get a sharp tongue a well. Not to him, of course, but he found her rather casual dismissal of Orochimaru rather nice. She'd picked that up from him, he realized. That thought made him smile.

He placed a hand over his neck, rubbing the spot where the cursed seal of heaven lay dormant. He had gained supreme control over the mark, though he found it would still try to ruin him from time to time. It was a power he used only rarely. He would need to draw on it to fight Orochimaru, he expected. Which was why he planned to have Sakura close by.

She had that strange ability to suppress it. It was not mystical or arcane, really. Simply her honest begging that managed to break through and help him. She had done it recently, even, and he had taken to bringing her along whenever he trained. Soothing words cut through the haze that overtook him when the curse mark pressed his sanity. It was cliche, almost. The power of love? Maybe. Who knows, it wouldn't be the strangest thing he'd ever seen.

He stood and headed for his door. He would check up on Sakura. She was training still, he knew. He made his way down the hallways, slowly but with a clear direction. He found it easier to navigate now that he'd spent so long here. They'd spent more time here then they had in any other of Orochimaru's hideouts. He wondered why, and suspected it might be his 'masters' rapidly deteriorating health. Pathetic. He was finally reaching the end of his usefulness and becoming fundamentally weak. He'd had to end the snake's life soon.

Very soon.

* * *

_Elsewhere, in the Hokage's office..._

Tsunade was not in a particularly good mood, not after that meeting with the council members, and even moreso when that bastard of a man, Danzō, had shown up. Despite his opposition status when it came to things, he was a member of the old guard and popular with some members. She had relented to allow a single one of their demands, a personal choice for the third member of the team which would be sent on this particular mission. But when the one-eyed bastard walked in she had almost immediately regretted it.

She needed a drink. She turned her seat around and looked out the window of her office, staring off into the distance. The last thing the village needed was more political turmoil, but she wasn't sure Danzō would agree.

"You're not seriously going to send him on this mission, are you?" Shizune asked, her tone revealing that she likely already knew the answer before she asked. Tsunade didn't even turn around to reply.

"My decision is final, Shizune. I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to. And I don't want to." she said with a grin, "Because if anyone is going to bring that boy home, it'll be him. I'd bet on it."

"Lady, with your luck, perhaps that's not a good idea." Shizune responded without thinking, slapping a hand over her mouth as she did. Tsunade turned to her slowly, very unamused. The young medical-nin sweatdropped, and she could have swore she saw stars appear in the hokage's eyes.

"As I was saying-" the hokage said, turning back to her desk, "Naruto isn't going to give up. He's the strongest kid I've ever seen, with more guts then anyone. He'll do it."

Shizune wasn't so convinced, "You really think so, Lady Tsunade?"

The hokage simply chuckled and sighed, "No, Shizune. I know so."

Shizune looked at her long time master and simply nodded, waiting a moment before speaking again, "And... what about Hinata, Lady Tsunade?"

That question took longer for the hokage to answer. She closed her eyes and she sat in silence for a few moments. "Other then her protective nature and the little stunt she pulled a few years back that likely saved his life? Well, other then that... she's good for him, Shizune. In a way neither Naruto nor Hinata quite understand, I think. And she has the potential to be more precious to him then anyone. And-"

She let her words trail off for a moment, causing Shizune to frown, "Yes, my lady?"

"I feel bad to say it, somewhat. But, the truth of the matter is she's somewhat of a replacement for Sakura. Naruto needed that, I think, or else this could have been far worse for him." she said, slight frown on her face, "She is starting to really love him, I think. Not just admire or respect, but actual love. I'm not sure he will know how to deal with that, but I think it'll make him a better person."

She turned to her companion with a weary look, "And if I am proven wrong, and he can't- God Forbid- bring them home, then she might be the only one to pull him through it."

* * *

_Elsewhere in Konohagakure..._

"It would seem, then, that the days of the old Team Eight are at an end, Kurenai-sensei." Shino said in his trademark logical monotone. His clothing had gotten even more enclosed over the years, which made him extremely hard to read, even for one with her skills.

He had come over for a nondescript reason, but that was not so uncommon. All of her team would often spend time talking with her, and visit even though Team 8 hadn't gone on a true mission together for months now. Shino was sitting across from her, sharing a friendly tea and chat with his long time teacher.

She had always liked her team, even for all their quirks. And they were a very quirky bunch. Shino had his clan's cold, logical precision but was not the most social of people. In a way, though, Shino might have been the most well adjusted of the group, and the one with the best home life. His family was complete and his clan status was secure. He was happy, in his own way, and she had succeeded in getting him to 'come out of his shell' a fair bit. Now he was joining his clan as a director for colony breeding. He was a mature, skilled, and most of all functional adult. She could be proud of having a part in that.

Kiba, on the other hand, was far more problematic then one might have expected at first. He was an aggressive young boy from a clan who tended to exemplify those traits, and he very much acted like a dog, both in loyalty and behavior. But that wasn't the real issue, and Kurenai did not begrudge anyone their clan traditions. But, Kiba also had grown up at least part of his life without a father, as, in his own words, his mother 'scared him off.' So she sometimes wondered how much of his behavior was his clan and how much of it was his imitation of what a 'guy' should be due to lacking experience. His time with her was good for him, but when Kakashi had stepped up and taken him on as a pupil after his dejection and near loss of Akamaru the boy truly began tho thrive.

"That's right." she replied somewhat sadly, "With your closer work with your clan, Hinata's being requested for another team, and Kiba's entrance into the ANBU, seems that things have come to an end. And I've been requested to take on some teaching duties at the academy."

"I must admit surprise at this turn of events." Shino said, taking a sip of his tea in such a way that made Kurenai wonder what meals were like at the Aburame compound. Their entire family tended to share that same style of covering up. He somehow managed to drink tea without even lowering his collar It never ceased to amaze her.

"Oh, that's not very much like you, Shino." she said with a smile, her pupil's tone never even shifting.

"Indeed, but the truth is the truth. Particularly, Kiba-san being chosen for the ANBU was most unexpected."

"Well, being trained by Kakashi was good for him." she said, a twinge of jealousy in her voice. She did think it was good, she really did. Kiba was changed, though. He was a bit more quiet, and reserved, but she felt that he might have been taking it a bit too far. Or maybe she just missed the Kiba she always knew. But he had to grow up some time.

"I agree." Shino said, again making Kurenai wishing he was easier to read. Sometimes she thought maybe she should take everything said at face value, but her experiences with the rest of society made her think otherwise. Perhaps that was why she so enjoyed his company. He was a challenge,

"But," Shino said, causing Kurenai focus more intently for a moment, "it is Hinata who has surprised me the most."

"Yes." Kurenai said, feeling both a twinge of jealousy and pride at the same time. She had spent much time with Hinata, and although she had never been able to become a surrogate mother to the troubled young girl, she had taken on a roll as almost an older sister. She had helped guide Hinata when she needed it, she knew, and she was happy for that. Even if she was jealousy that when he truly began to bloom that she had been taken under the wing of a new teacher. But then again, there was pride in that as well. She had not only requested that training, from one of the sannin and the hokage no less, but she had been granted it and taken on as her apprentice.

Hinata had had the most problematic of all the team's back stories. Her home life was abysmal: she'd lost her mother when she was young and her father had become increasingly colder and harsher with his daughter over time. She had no confidence in her skill, and she hadn't much skill to have confidence in. She was hopelessly obsessed with a boy, which wasn't truly bad but it could have become something very unhealthy. But, that obsession actually became something that saved her. Naruto did not exploit it, or even notice it really. He simply cheered her on and believed in her, giving her a boost that only he could do. But something worried Kurenai still about her bond to that boy.

She was worried it could become a worse obsession, in a way, particularly with Naruto's growing attraction and attention of her as well. Kurenai read people, and Naruto wasn't a particularly deceptive person, after all. Even if he tried to, his own unique 'upbringing' (or lack there of) meant that he simply had no idea how to hide his intentions at all.

"She's become a beautiful and strong woman. Naruto is very lucky." Shino said, causing Kurenai to freeze up for a moment. She recovered quickly and smiled.

"Yes. Very lucky." he said, and then looked out the window of her small apartment. She hoped it would be that way. Hinata deserved it, and so did Naruto honestly. But she couldn't help but worry.

Just like a big sister.

* * *

_Some distance away, in Amegakure..._

Madara stood at the edge of one of the tall towers, overlooking the industrial jungle that was the Village Hidden in the Rain. It was raining, as it so often was, and the Uchiha found that rather soothing. He needed all the soothing he could get, as well, particularly given this latest catastrophe.

He was not particularly pleased with this turn of events. It had been rather strongly outside of his predictions for how things would go, and he rarely had his predictions proven wrong. Honestly, the loss of one, or even two Akatsuki members had they successfully been able to extract one of the tailed beasts. Fundamentally, they were all expendable. Some where more expendable then others. But he did not appreciate having them squandered. And, given they'd failed in the extraction of the One-Tailed Shukaku, they had particularly failed. But they couldn't leave even that failure to stand alone.

They hadn't even the decency to _die. _Instead they'd had the gall to be captured alive, by Konoha no less! It put Madara in an interesting situation: did he rescue them, despite their failure? Did he just have them killed, despite the fact they might still be useful? Or did he simply rely on the fact they had only fraction of the true knowledge about the organization and move on. He could replace them, he knew. People with a lust for power were a dime a dozen in this world. He already had a few in mind...

"Pain." he said, causing the de jure leader of Akatsuki to look up at him from his silent brooding. "We'll replace the two. You know the candidates. Send them to recover Sasori and Deidara."

Pain said nothing. Madara did not expect him to. He would follow the order, Madara knew. Pain was a fairly effective leader. Somewhat idealistic, in his own dark way, but effective still. And powerful. The Rinnegan was an impressive tool, and one Madara was glad to have in his arsenal. And, of course, with Pain came Konan. Not as impressive, but skilled never-the-less and just as useful. And she kept Pain in check more then he realized. But this little catastrophe would still need to be dealt with.

He frowned. Perhaps it was time to make a personal appearance, of sorts.

* * *

_Back in Konohagakure..._

"So what's with blondie?" Temari asked, waggling her pair of chopsticks in the direction that Naruto had just taken off to. She and Shikamaru had taken a lunch break from their assigned duties, mostly to give her a breather. Still working with the lazy Nara on the upcoming chuunin exams, they were working on the various mechanics of the exam, weighing the pros and cons of each round and deciding proctors and the other minutiae. It was a tedious process that Shikamaru described as both a 'drag' and 'troublesome' at various points in time, yet he always was quite thorough. Almost too thorough in his contingencies sometimes, and she was happy to change the subject off the exams and onto something else for a short while. In this case, a certain recently returned genin's speedy pace through town.

"Hrm, what, you mean Naruto?" Shikamaru said, looking up from his meal with a bored look on his face.

"Yeah, of course that kid, who else?" she replied a bit sharply, but true to his nature he seemed too lazy to care about her tone.

"I don't know, haven't really talked with him much since he got back. He showed up and then was right out the door with Kakashi and Hinata in tow. Now he's back and he's rushing around again. Too troublesome to bother with. I'll talk to him when he slows down." he said and then returned to his meal, earning a sigh from his dining companion.

"So... what about your friend as the first proctor, then?" she said after a short pause, causing him to look up with a uncommonly dark look on his face. Temari almost frowned, being rather unaccustomed to those strange moments. His team was a touchy subject as of late. But the look faded quickly, replaced with a smirk.

"She certainly knows how to get inside peoples heads." he said, leaning back as he did, "She'll be perfect."

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the ANBU Headquarters..._

Deidara was bored. Like, extremely bored, yeah? More bored then he'd ever been in his own life. He hadn't really ever considered what life would be like without arms, but had he likely still wouldn't have ever imagined just HOW boring it actually was. He had no metaphor for just how boring it was, and he had run through all of the ones he could think of. Though, the boredom could have been enhanced by the fact he was armless and tied up in a Leaf Village prison (or at least what the thought was a prison, yeah.) That made things definitely worse.

Bored.

He had tried singing, but realized he didn't really know any good songs.

He wondered how long he'd been there, because it felt like a few years. He knew it couldn't be more then a few hours. Days? Something like that. It was less then a year, he was fairly sure. I mean, hard to tell, really. He supposed it had to be, he would have starved otherwise. At least, I mean, that was likely what would happen, unless Konohagakure had some crazy 'sustenance beam' and was keeping him alive. But he doubted they were that dedicated to trying to mess with his head.

So a few hours likely, he figured. Or days. Maybe a day or two. Or three. He was pretty hungry, after all. When was the last time he'd eaten? A few days ago too? He wasn't sure how many, the room had no window. Just a a chair, padded all the way around and bolted to the floor; a bed, also padded all the way around, with a metal-less mattress that was also glued to the frame, which was also padded and bolted; and a single light that dangled from a short span of wire, with a single light bulb. He had spent a few minutes (or was it hours?) trying to guess how long the length of wire was. He had finally settled on two feat (or was it three feet and seven inches?) and then tried to sleep.

He couldn't sleep. Mattress sucked and the light never went off, ever. Didn't have the decency to flicker either, yeah. The room had no sink, which he couldn't have used likely anyway (no arms meant no hands after all, yeah) and it had no toilet, but he hadn't had to go cus he hadn't really eaten anything for a few days (or was it hours?) He really wished he had a window. He couldn't find the air vent, but he was pretty sure there was one, given the fact the air never seemed to get too warm or stuffy. He wished he had some clay. But then again, he had no arms so wouldn't have been all that useful, yeah.

He sat down on his bed. He didn't really like the chair much. It just sat there in the center of the room. No table or anything. He'd spent a few hours (or was it days?) in the chair, and moved to the bed. He couldn't sleep, but he liked the bed better then the chair, even though he couldn't sleep. They never turned the light out you see, not even a flicker, yeah.

The mattress was too spongy. Room was too gray. Just gray concrete. All the same, very uniform. He wondered how they managed to do that, make everything smooth and clean.

He was a little bit hungry, but ninja could go for a long time without sustenance. He wondered if Konohagakure had something that also took care of that cus he hadn't felt really all that hungry at all for all the days he'd been in the room (or was it hours?) He wondered how long the wire was for that light bulb. He wished the light would flicker. The light never flickered. And it never went off either. He couldn't sleep at all. The mattress was too spongy. Maybe he'd go and sit on the chair. He wasn't sure what he liked better, the chair or the bed.

He was really bored.

He hadn't ever considered how bored he would be without arms.

* * *

_Outside the cell..._

"How much longer are you planning to keep him in there?" Ibiki asked with an amused grin on his face, staring at the armless Akatsuki from behind a hidden window.

"I'll give him another twenty minutes, sensei." Ino replied, smirking evilly.

"How long has he been in there, anyway?" the scarred Tokubetsu Jōnin asked, turning to his young pupil.

"Five days, two hours, and thirty-seven minutes." she said, grin growing increasingly sinister with each word. "I love the room. Always messes with their heads."

Ibiki just smiled. She really did take after her ol' teacher. And then some. He was hoping she'd take over as the head of ANBU Torture and Interrogation in a few years. She'd proven very effective at getting in peoples heads, and that nice girl attitude she brought in always messed with their heads even better then Ibiki could sans his bandanna. She'd started her own solo interrogations in the last few months, and had a rather impressive success rate. She hadn't once needed him to step in, though officially he was supposed to be watching her for 'her and the subjects protection.'

Honestly, though, he just enjoyed watching her work.

* * *

_Later, in town..._

It was eerie, really. Konohamaru couldn't shake the strangest feeling of being followed. Like there were a pair of eyes always on him, staring into his very soul. It was creepy, honestly, but every time he'd tried looking around or surprising someone, he'd found nothing at all and just made a fool of himself. He began picking up his pace, trying to rush back to his home and, he hoped safety. Last thing he wanted was to be caught out in the open when whatever it was that was following him made a move.

He and his team had just gotten done a fairly grueling training session with Ebisu-sensei, and turned in their daily Rank D mission. It wasn't the most rewarding of things, but it was how every ninja started, and even Naruto-oyabun told him that he just had to suffer through it and that he'd get his chance eventually. The young genin had sighed and resigned himself to his fate, and the fact that he was falling so far behind oyabun. He had to speed things up, or else he'd never be ready to be the seventh hokage at this rate.

He turned around suddenly, eyes scanning for that strange presence again, and then frowned. Foiled again, it seemed. Slowly, he turned back around and hurried on home. He idly wondered if maybe he should talk to oyabun about this.

"Nah," he said to himself, "like he'd know what I'm talking about."

The young Sarutobi picked up his pace, long scarf fluttering behind him as he did.

Some distance back, a young, lavender-eyed girl peeked from around the corner, watching as Konohamaru ran. Her eyes flashed as she watched him, a smirk on her confident face. Yes, she was going to get that boy some time, and make him her guy. He should feel lucky for the chance, even.

She would do it, or her name wasn't Hanabi Hyuuga.


	10. Part 1, Chapter 9: Thoughts of the Past

**Author Note: **I'm going to be out of town until shortly after Christmas, meaning there will be a slight pause in updates. I generally like to have one up weekly, to twice weekly even, and I'll try to make it up and post an extra length one (or at least the next chapter) shortly after I get back.

* * *

_At the Valley of the End..._

He hadn't known why he bothered to come here, let alone why he chose this moment in time; this juncture of his plans and schemes. Sasuke hadn't really thought about this place at all in so very long. Years, was it? It seemed so long ago, a lifetime or more, but he realized that in truth it had been only around three years of time. Three years away, but they had been the most important three years of his life, he would admit. How could he not?

Three years ago, he was here, at the Valley of the End, fighting against someone whom he shared a bond with. A true bond, not pure or innocent but realistic and gritty. A bond of friendship, and in many ways brotherhood. But Sasuke didn't have good examples of brotherly bonds. But they seemed to define his existence, he realized. He was a man who was directed and driven by brotherhood, shaped by it and molded into his current form. It was his first brother who put him on his path, and it was his second brother who returned it to him.

The Uchiha was sitting down atop one of the stone heads, leaning back with his arms bracing him up. Sasuke looked out over the water. He was atop the head of his ancestor, a figure he knew the basic history of. Madara Uchiha had been there are the start of Konohagakure, but in his hubris he'd ended up throwing it all away and being exiled. Or so the stories went, at least. He wondered how Madara would have seen Sasuke himself, but shook his head. He hadn't thrown away anything, he chose the path rather then being forced upon it. Once, he wondered if perhaps the better path would have been for him to have ignored his brother, grown up strong and started the clan. Would that be a greater insult to him?

But blood demanded blood, and he could not allow his brother to continue existing. That was what he had always told himself when he was younger, before he had to really sit and think about his motives. Early on he hadn't changed that habit, spending his whole time training and working on his control. He always did the hard exercise, the ones that sucked up more and more of his concentration. He had no time to muse about his life, and it wasn't until things began to slow down that he really discovered why.

He was a profoundly selfish person.

Sasuke had left behind loyalty to friends. He'd left behind loyalty to teachers. He'd left behind loyalty to his village as a whole, really. He'd left behind decency, in many ways, given who he'd chosen to go to. He'd left behind his chances of a normal life. He disregarded all those with any link or bond to him, without a care in how his choice would effect them. He was selfish to an extreme, focusing only on his own goal and his own choices. But that was his choice, and he had made it without any regret. And he still had none.

It was not regret, for he felt no guilt for the path he'd chosen, per se. Had he the chance to do it over again, the only things he would change were that he'd have pushed himself even harder. He did not regret leaving Konohagakure, nor did he regret becoming a student of the vile snake. His loyalty and love for Konohagakure had been eclipsed by his desire for revenge and there was no going back. He knew that, and had never ever intended to return. He did not regret that, even though part of him told him that he should have. But the loyalty that would have made him regret it died quickly, a quick but messy death at that. It was inevitable, given the power he was getting out of the deal.

The stone of the statue was cold beneath him, setting sun casting the world into shades of orange and red. He frowned at that. The colors brought up a certain forgotten face he was not keen on thinking of. Naruto was a subject that was never comfortable for him, and he knew it was the same for Sakura. Their former teammate's vow, in this very place, three years ago still echoed in his mind. The loser would not let them go, he realized. He would come after Sasuke someday, and that made the Uchiha wonder if they would end up fighting once again. Naruto was strong, and he would dedicate himself to being stronger. He saw the gleam in the loser's eye when he made that promise, too.

He stood up, staring off into the vague direction of his former home. If it was possible, he would find no reason to ever cross over the waterfall and back into the land of Fire. He was not so confident in his ability to suppress his own emotions and nostalgia. The farther he was from Konoha, the better. Less chances of some sort of attraction to the place actually formed. He already had first hand experience with how fallible his emotions could be from the night he left. He rationalized so many of his choices as being on a whim, but the real truth behind it all was far less in line with his standing as someone who was so in-control of his emotions.

Sasuke had an inkling of realization that, in many ways, he was as driven and emotional as Naruto was. His life and path was defined by emotion. Perhaps that was why he was so cold? Was it because he had invested himself so fully in his hate and anger, or was it because he knew, consciously or unconsciously, the control his emotions could exert over him? But what Sasuke was only beginning to realize was that by letting his emotions twist him that once he had let a little bit of his hate go, replacing it with an emotion that, while not love, was as much as he could muster for the pink-haired girl who would had proven rather clearly she would do anything for him.

He removed his old hitae-ite from his jacket and ran a finger over the gash in it's surface, a frown crossing his face as he did. Why had he kept this? He had tried to throw it away so many times, destroy it or simply leave it somewhere. But he couldn't bring himself to toss it away. There was symbolism in the deep gouge. His cut ties to his old home, and cut bonds. How funny that he still kept it, though. The frown on his face grew larger as he realized how much the band now looked like that of his brother. He pulled his arm back, ready to toss the forehead protector into the raging waterfall.

Hesitation overtook him. The missing-nin stood there, arm cocked and ready, but without the will to go through with it. It fled from him as fast as it had come, and he stuffed the hitae-ite back into his cloak with a scowl. He hadn't completely severed those bonds, it seemed. It did not matter, in the long run. There was no returning to Konohagakure for him, despite what Naruto may have thought. It was simultaneously touching and pathetic to him.

Naruto wanted to bring his old teammates back, but in a way he never realized that the only things that would happen if he was. What would happen if he was brought back would be death, and if not that then he would be chained up and locked away in the depths of some prison, rotting away until the end of time. Or maybe he'd get lucky, just be hated and forbidden to ever be a ninja again, maybe seal off his eyes or some other horrible fate just to keep his balls in the breeding pool and the sharingan still in the hands of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Death, prison, or breeding stock was not a future that gave Sasuke much hope. The Uchiha realized that in the pursuit of one dream, he'd given up on another one. He would never restart the Uchiha clan in Konohagakure, no. Perhaps he would go to Kumogakure and attempt to settle there after this was all over. Sunagakure was right out, not with it's close bond with Konoha. And Kirigakure? They didn't take kindly to bearers of kekkei genkai, he thought, remembering Haku. No, that would not work. Iwagakure would be just as likely to try and use him as chained up breeding stock to a degree that would actually be worse then his old home. Kumogakure was big, one of the strongest villages of all really, and he'd likely even get a fair shake there too. Maybe. He'd heard about how they had attempted to steal the Hyuuga's byakugan before. Having the sharingan delivered to them might give him the push he needed.

Of course, he could go small instead. Takigakure. Small, but growing. Who knows, maybe he could be the first Takiakage he thought with a grin. If nothing more, he'd have even more weight to swing around in one of the smaller villages if he brought the sharingan with him. And, of course, from what he gathered, Sakura's new ability was fused with her on a genetic level. Something about a retrovirus or a similar concept. But the important part was that it was genetic, unlike Kakashi's transplanted eye. That meant there was a chance that the Uchiha clan would be come to be known not only for their legendary dōjutsu, but perhaps for their gift with crystals as well.

Sasuke froze in place as he realized what he had just admitted to himself in his mental rambling. He realized, of course, that thoughts of reproduction where not exactly peculiar for people, particularly young men of his age. Admittedly, he was not a very normal young man either, even if he had given thought to the matter. But he tended to look at in a cold and detached manner. It was restarting his clan, or it was a saved tool for bringing up loyalty and morale. It was distant, a concept he was quite content to not worry himself with. That was not normal, and he knew it, but it was how he was and he did not regret for a second who he was.

What surprised him was the sudden and very vivid image of a young boy with short black hair forming a red crystal that crackling with electrical energy around his arm as his emerald green eyes shifted into the Uchiha's sharingan. He saw an older man, streaks of silver running through cropped hair that matched the boy, and a woman with locks of flowing pink and emerald eyes standing a short distance away, watching as the young boy trained. Sasuke shook his head violently, clearing his head of the image suddenly. What was that? He hadn't given much thought to the implications of taking Sakura with him until now. Perhaps as an idle or momentary thought he'd considered that he'd more or less chosen her as the one to start his clan with.

Why not? She was loyal to him to a fault, so much so it drove her to lengths he would have not even imagined, let alone approved of. But it was her wish, and he had already given in to her on that. She loved him, completely, and she had placed her whole being into his hands. She was not a blind follower, he knew. Sakura even questioned him now, more and more frequently. It was never with malice, almost more like requests, but she would give suggestions and corrections when she felt appropriate. That made Sasuke happy, and he had been quick to show his approval for it and encourage her to continue doing so. He had no regrets on that yet.

But to restart his clan with her? She was not unwilling, he knew, particularly from how she acted around him. They shared a bed, but he had not touched her in that way, nor had he intended to for quite some time, if ever. Or, a least, that was what he told himself. As he stood on top of the ancient stone statue and stared out over the red-tinted waters he couldn't help but feel that little lie to himself unravel. Now, more then ever, she was the perfect candidate for it. Strong, smart, skilled, and despite everything, the girl had managed to sneak ever so slightly into his heart. Not love, by far, but something still.

In the absence of Konoha, she had become something very important to Sasuke. She was his home.

Sasuke turned and launched himself into distance, heading for the trees and the path back to the hideout. It wasn't far for a lone person to go, particularly not with his stamina. He'd push through the night. Both Orochimaru and his lackey, Kabuto, would be gone, off to meet with a spy or something. Sasuke had stopped paying attention to his 'sensei's' business quite some time ago. But it was time to go back to the hideout, preparing for the coming fight.

Back to the hideout. Back to his home.

Back to Sakura.

* * *

_Meanwhile, a great distance away..._

Naruto Uzumaki was in a bind that he had not once ever been in before, and one he was not entirely certain he could get out of, either. It was the strangest feelings of guilt and failure that he'd ever had. He was not particularly accustomed to feeling guilty about anything, as any one of the many chuunin and genin that were assigned to chase him down after one of his many, _many,_ **many **pranks or stunts he'd pulled in his younger days. And, although it wasn't quite clear to him, he had no parents to really impress upon him the concept of 'guilt' for most things. Iruka had done it somewhat, but even that was only half enforced and muddled by his inability to spend enough time with the boy or keep up his anger for very long.

So the fact that Naruto was here, blue eyes wide open in the middle of the night and unable to fall asleep due to _guilt_? It was a peculiar thing.

The guilt had started earlier that night, at dinner. Naruto had been reluctant about Captain Yamato when he was first introduced, Kakashi having been sent on his own solo mission. It had been a Class S urgent mission, he had been told by Tsunade, but only after quite a bit of complaining enough that baa-chan got so annoyed that she just snapped and told him. But, that was all she'd tell him and it had only moderately placated the boy. But that had been the start of his bad day.

The second thing had come in the form of that weird, pale kid who attacked him earlier and had ther nerve to call him just a 'basically average ninja' or something along those lines. Naruto had been so angry he couldn't even remember correctly, and it had only been Hinata's urging that kept him from taking a swing at the cocky kid who always was smiling that weird-o, fake smile. And then he had the nerve to start talking down to Sasuke. Hinata had stepped in to stop the fight, only to cause Sai to collapse into a heap by striking one of his vital points. She said Sai should be quiet about things he knows nothing about in a voice more angry then Naruto had ever heard.

Naruto had stood wide-eyed until Yamato unleashed some of his powerful jutsu and threatened to throw the team into a wooden prison unless they started working togeather. So, Naruto had begrudgingly listened... after Yamato also pulled that creepy 'ghoul-eye' look on him.

Though, the blond-haired genin had to admit that Yamato wasn't so bad after all when they arrived at a resort for the night. Though even that had turned out to be less good after Sai started talking about 'little Naruto' and caused a bit of a scene. (Naruto reacted completely fine, of course. Yessir, no mistakes on his part!) But dinner had at least been good. Amazingly so, really. Such a feast, and that had set aside all the bad parts. Naruto thought he might have even seen Sai smile a bit. Hinata was looking a bit red, but Naruto just chalked that up to too much time in the water.

He found himself looking at Hinata more and more lately, something he wasn't quite sure about. They hadn't had much time to catch up after he'd gotten back, though they had gone out for some ramen after the mission to rescue Gaara. He learned a bit then, and about some of the rest of his old friends. It was enjoyable talking with her, and he wasn't quite sure to make of it when he found himself staring and fumbling over his words around her. Sometimes she'd blush and look away, and fumble over just as much as him. He was glad that she had been placed on her team after Team 8 got dissolved, though. She always reminded him of happier things.

Without warning, the image had changed in his head. Sai was Sasuke in his mind, sitting there in quiet brooding while secretly enjoying himself; Hinata was Sakura, being more careful about what she picked but smiling all the same; and Yamato was Kakashi, smiling as he watch his students. The image was but a momentary flash that he shook out of his head and ignored. Or at least, he thought he did. As the night began to wear on he became more and more distracted by it. Guilt welled up inside of him and he was now sitting there, eyes wide awake and no sleep in sight.

He was guilty that he was here, smiling and enjoying himself despite the fact that he had so very little in the way of progress when it came to bringing his old teammates home. They were going now to get information, but he suddenly felt a weight on him for having spent so long training instead of looking for him. That and- and his growing attention and, he somewhat reluctantly allowed himself, his attraction to Hinata. Sometimes he was glad how she could take his mind off things, but now he almost felt like he was cheating them.

Rolling over on his futon, he pulled the covers closer over him and sighed. He'd make it up to them. This mission was all about that, wasn't it? He was gonna get that, and then he'd find them. And then he was gonna bring them home. And things could go back to the way they were.

It would be perfect.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

A room or so away, a certain lavender eyed Hyuuga sat awake on her own futon. Her face was still tinted a rosy red from earlier in the day. It had been when she was in the bath, though not that she spent too much time in it. No, it wasn't that. Instead, it had been what she'd seen. Which was basically everything. She blushed deeper as her mind wandered back to those memories and caused a very strange fire to well up deep inside her as she pulled the covers more over herself in embarrassment. No one was here, and she still felt it, that was how embarrassing this.

She'd heard a ruckus, and Naruto shouting. In her haste the elder of the Main Family Hyuuga did not really hear what he had said and had activated her byakugan on a reflex, turning to the source of the sound. What she was greeted with caused her entire body to turn red in a manner that made her look a though she'd chowed down on one of Kiba-kun's special soldier pills. She found herself so shocked, so stunned and unable to react, that she couldn't even bring herself to turn her eyes off or shut them. Not even when she got a full frontal shot of a certain blond-haired genin with whisker marks and a rather toned body.

And a rather impressive-

Noooooooooooo, she couldn't think about that sort of thing. She shook in her bed. Oh dear... she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight at all. It hadn't helped when he had turned around and she got a nice look at his firm, round-

She whimpered. No, she certainly wasn't getting any sleep...

* * *

_A short distance outside of Konohagakure..._

Although most prisoners of the Village Hidden in the Leaves were stored in a secure facility inside the village, there were a select few prisoners who, either due to their great value, great danger, or both were simply too strong to be stored inside of Konoha. These select few were stored, instead, a few miles outside of the village proper there was a hidden facility designed for the specific purpose of holding these high value, high danger targets who where most likely to have a rescue or assassination attempt taken out against, or who had the highest chances of breaking out. It was a calculated thing, even if the hokage never really had liked the logic.

More or less, the point was that any truly dedicated attempt was going to succeed in getting to their target. Security inside the village was only barely better then outside, and you could make up the difference by having the facility more easily hidden away. And, should someone try to break in and either killer, or assassinate one of the prisoners there they would do so without endangering the village directly in their entrance or escape. It was technically sound, if not the most reassuring. And it was also not at all a preferred posting, but due to secrecy the guards were only rarely cycled out. This made them familiar with the facility, but also very, very bored.

So bored that, until they were nearly at the supposedly 'secret' facility, the pair of black cloaked and straw-hatted figures were totally unnoticed. One of them was tall, easily six feet, and seemed to ooze with an aura of the unnatural and eldritch. To most, he was simply unpleasant to be around and that only worsened the longer one spent and the closer one got. So much was that a problem that it was nearly impossible for and human to spend time around him without wanting to either run away screaming or trying to kill him. The former annoyed him, and the latter generally failed. He tended to kill anyone who did either. Which meant just about anyone he met.

That was the reason why his partner had been chosen for him, despite the fact that neither of them were senior members of Akatsuki. Where the first man walked with a somewhat unnatural seeming gait, the second didn't walk at all. He hopped, bouncing along in such a way that made it hard to gauge his actually height, though he was clearly a few inches shorter then the first man. And where the first man was darkly tanned, the second seemed almost unnaturally pale. Unlike most people, the second man was not put off by the strange aura that the first gave off. He couldn't feel it at all, a fact which unnerved the first man at first but was quickly replaced simply by amusement and happiness at having someone to actually talk to again.

"So, Kat-san, how many are there?" the first man asked in a cheerful voice, turning to look at his bouncing partner.

"I told you not to call me that. My name is Katsura, Yori. Katsura." was the somewhat angry response, the man not even stopping his bouncing or looking at his partner. "And there are about a dozen of them."

"Just a dozen? Awh, awh, I was really kinda sorta hoping for a challenge, Kat-san."

"I said not to-"

"Yes yes, I heard, I heard. Sorry, sorry." Yori replied in an exasperated tone.

"They are ANBU." said Katsura, hitae-ite bouncing up and down from around his neck as he moved. The emblem was old an worn, a deep gash through the crescent moon emblem of Getsugakure, the Village Hidden under the Moon, that it bore.

"Ah, ah, well at least there is that, then." the other man said, adjusting the star emblem hitae-ite of Hoshigakure, Village Hidden among Stars, that he wore on his head as he did. It was not the only one. He wore another hitae-ite around his neck, with the same emblem and the same scratch, and two more just like it on his upper arms, pulled tight over his black and red robes. Another rested around his waist like a belt, covered by the closed robes. All had the same emblem and same scratch of the Star Village. "It isn't really quite what I wanted, not really want I wanted at all. But, but, beggers can't be choosers."

The other man stopped his bouncing for a moment, blank expression on his face as he turned to his colleague. He waited a moment, causing Yori to turn back to him, confused. "Yeah, what is it?"

"I was just thinking." Katsura said, "Are you sure it was this 'aura' that annoyed people, and not your repetitive redundancy?"

* * *

_A great many miles away, in the Land of Earth..._

"Itachi-san, you're even more demure then usual." Kisame said with his trademark toothy grin, turning back to look at his companion. "You haven't said anything since we left. Usually I can get at least a small grunt or something out of you. Not even when we passed though that last village."

Kisame continued to look at Itachi, grinning the whole time, but the elder Uchiha said nothing in response and simply continued on. Inside, he was giddy. He did so love playing with Itachi. It was strange, really. Their partnership was an assigned thing but in truth he had always rather enjoyed the far more reserved Itachi. They were quite the pair, Kisame thought, and trying to elicit a response from the often mute man had become an amusing road game for the ex-Swordsman of the Mist. He called it Itachi Fishing.

"The girls were hanging all over you." Kisame continued, knowing he needed to step up his game. "But that's not uncommon, I guess. After all, you're quite handsome. And you've got me as your wingman. And, obviously, I am oddly colored."

Kisame laughed at his own joke, and then frowned when Itachi ignored him and simply continued to walk in mute silence. "Ah, come on, Itachi. Why you always gotta be so cold." he said somewhat harshly, but inside he was grinning. He could always get him with his.

Sure enough, a moment later Itachi responded, sighing softly before he did, "I am sorry, Kisame. I simply have a lot of things on my mind at the moment."

"Sure, sure." Kisame replied, turning back to the road as he did with a grin. Worked every time, "So what do you think of the new guys?"

"They are adequate." was the only response Itachi gave, but even that caused his blue-skinned partner to laugh.

"Ah, how diplomatic of you, Itachi-san. Very nice." he said with a chuckle, "Yes, they're not that impressive, but I suppose they'll do."

Itachi's expression never changed as he responded, eyes never leaving the path he was walking, "Yes, Kisame. They'll do just fine."


	11. Part 1, Chapter 10: Guilt

**Author Note: **You guys wound me a bit. Reviews have seriously tapered off, and I love to hear your opinions on the story, and so on. Also, the larger the reviews, the higher the chance people will notice the story and read it, thus making it more popular, in a way. So, keep'em coming!

I'd particularly like opinions on the two OC I'm introducing now, and don't worry I won't do this too often. Interesting in seeing if anyone can guess what their powers are, given the few hints I've dropped. :P

As to all those who have favorite or have Pack Light set on Story Alert, I thank you. You also a big inspiration, and it's nice to know that I will have 40-50 people, at least, checking the story out each time I post a chapter. I write this for you guys. Thanks.

Special notice to BrokenAvenger21, who was the first to set this to story alert, and OXEYESETTOKILLXO, who was the first to add this to their favorite stories. Many thanks to you guys!

* * *

_A few miles outside of Konohagakure, at a high-security prisoner facility…_

The two newest members of Akatsuki stood in the center of an open and mostly barren courtyard, maybe a hundred feet or so across, with various halls and stairways leading off to the various high-security cells of the facility. It was just inside the entrance to the circular prison facility hidden away in the thick forests that surrounded the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Utilitarian through and through, it was simple and bare concrete all the way around, without a single decoration or so much as a window or potted plant. It was a place that was easy to hate.

Getting in had been easy. The double doors hadn't been much trouble, despite it being a half a foot of rebar-reinforced concrete thick and perhaps nine feet tall each. Katsura had used his unliving strength to simple bust through it. It didn't even strain him. Then again, very little did. Now, inside the facility, with enemies approaching, they might actually need to put some effort into things.

They weren't worried. A dozen of these weaklings would be easy. Or, at least, it would be if Yori could remember that damn name.

"Shack-cue… shik-cue… bah…." The tall man said, tongue fumbling over the alien word.

"You know, Yori." His partner said, eyes locked forward on the various animal-masked guards who were advancing on them, "Perhaps next time you make a deal with a powerful and otherworldly being that requires you to pronounce it's name to invoke power, you should choose one with a name you _are able to pronounce._"

"Oh, oh, you just shut up, just shut up, Kat-san!" quipped the other man with a scowl. "It'll come to me, just wait! Just wait!"

"We haven't got time to wait, Yori." Katsura said flatly. If he still was breathing, he might have sighed. The hopping man closed his eyes, feet resting flat onto the ground as he ceased his bouncing. A soft popping sound echoed in the enclosed courtyard. "I'll take care of it."

"Wait-!" Yori shouted in objection, only to be cut off his pale, stiff partner suddenly shot off like a bolt of lightning, arms flailing behind him as he launched himself at the first of the ANBU guards. A soft clattering replaced the popping as Katsura's hat flew off his head and bounced to the floor. The lion-masked ANBU doubled and collapsed as Katsura slammed his head into the man's chest, crushing his ribcage with inhuman strength. The guard was dead before his killer's hat had even hit the floor.

It spun a few times on it's rim before settling down, but by the time it had Katsura was in motion again. He pushed off the ground with both feet, backflipping and landing against the wall. Once again he shot forward as he pushed off with both feet, a single chakra-enhanced arm stretched out in front of him. Another ANBU died without being able to even bring hands up to block, Katsura's fist going clean through the rooster-masked man. The rest of the guards were only just beginning to react, drawing weapons or hands moving as they quickly worked through hand seals. It would not be fast enough.

The pale man flexed backwards, knees bending at an unnatural level. A hail of kunai and shuriken passed over him, causing sparks to fly as they impacted the wall behind him and ricocheted off in various directions. He planted his hands behind him and let his legs snap back, causing them to wiggle in an almost rubber-like way as he brought them up. Two guards reached him and swung with their straight-edged ninjatō. One swung high, the other low. Katsura pushed off with both hands and twisted abnormally, letting one blade pass above and the other below him with almost contemptuous ease. They were used to fighting humans, and he was so much more then human now.

Be bent back, dislocated spine letting him plant a hand down and provide a base for his next attack. He rotated himself at high speed, bringing both legs around in a sweeping blow. His shins slammed into one of his two attacker's spine. Loud cracking as the spine shattered made Katsura grin. He did so enjoy this. He channeled chakra into his legs, sticking onto the instantly killed ANBU with it and bending back, waist actually wrapping back around enough for him to grab onto the man with both hands. Katsura's legs once again snapped back like rubber, giving him momentum to spin and send the pine-shattered corpse at the other guard. Cracking once again echoed as the body impacted with meteoric force and Katsura found himself sticking horizontally to one of the courtyards walls.

The entire action had taken a scant few seconds at most. In many ways, Katsura was just as alien as his partner. No long human by any stretch, the Akatsuki had an unholy level of flexibility alongside his unholy strength, both enhanced by chakra. Even behind their masks he could tell the ANBU were terrified of him, and even though not a single one made any sound he could already tell what they were thinking; the words on the cusp of their lips.

"You are wondering what I am." He said suddenly, twisting his body around and hand springing onto the floor. "Yes, you are wondering what sort of unholy monster I am."

He grinned, "Well, you see, I am a mockery of life, a corpse-creature who was so prideful that I wouldn't even let my soul go when I died. But, really, all you need to understand is that your chakra sings to me, so enticing and alluring, like the finest sake or a mouth-watering meal. Soon, I will suck it from your shattered body to sustain me, and I will enjoy it so very much. So what does that make me?"

Silence reigned for a short few moments before Katsura laughed and answered his own question, "I'm the thing that is going to kill you!"

And so he did.

* * *

Yori hadn't moved the entire time, an annoyed look on his face all the while. He was so very put off, to say the least. Katsura was a fine companion, and one he would not exchange for anything. I mean, he could actually tolerate Yori's presence! That made him special in Yori's book, but that didn't mean that the ex-hoshi shinobi was always so pleased by his pale partner's actions. He was very selfish some times, and had no patience for Yori's antics. Sure, he forgot the name of his patron some times, and other such scatterbrained things, but that didn't mean Katsura had to hog all the fun.

He sighed as he watched a sickly green stream of chakra flow from one of the ANBU guard's eyes and mouth and into Katsura's waiting maw. He had pinned the last of the ANBU down, and was eagerly devouring his very essences. It was something Yori had grown used to. Much like Yori himself, Katsura was not exactly human anymore. Heck, in many ways, Katsura was even less human then Yori. The robed missing-nin then watched as Katsura stood back up, popping once again echoing through the now blood-splattered and corpse-strewn courtyard. Half of the corpses were shattered masses of crushed bone and organs, barely recognizable as human anymore. The other half looked as though they'd been sucked dry, wrinkled husks of men.

Disgusting. And, given his own less than savory self, that meant something. Yori had no illusions about the guest he harbored and what that made him. However, while Yori was disgusting on the inside, Katsura was disgusting on the outside. Well, on the inside too but particularly on the outside. Yori still blanched at thoughts of what his partner looked like under those robes. He'd seen it only once and that was enough, easily understanding why the pale 'man' liked to keep a personal genjutsu up nearly constantly. How he managed to hide the _smell_ still amazed the ex-Star Village ninja.

Hopping again, Katsura made his way back next to his stationary partner. His expression once again blank for the most part, his momentary high having lapsed back into his casual contentment. The massacre had taken only a few minutes, which was about as long as Katsura managed to keep himself excited about anything. Yori huffed, "I would have remembered it eventually, I would have remembered!"

"You took too long." Was all Katsura said in his defense, hopping towards one of the hallways. Stairs were too annoying for him to go down, he'd leave those to Yori. "Deidara is down the second set of stairs. Go get him."

"Ah, Kat-san." Yori said with some surprise as he watched the retreating form of his partner. The pet name caused Katsura to frown. He did so hate that stupid habit of Yori.

"Yes, Yori, what is it?" he asked in an exasperated tone, not stopping his bouncing shuffle towards the hall.

"You have a kunai in your shoulder."

Katsura stopped, neck popping a bit. He rotated his head all the way around, looking down onto his back. And, sure enough, a single kunai was stuck deep into to the back of his left shoulder.

"Hmm…" he murmured, "One got a lucky shot, I guess."

He turned his head back around and continued down the hall, leaving a less then amused Yori in stunned silence. Ok, so Katsura was _definitely_ less human then him.

* * *

Depending on the culture one belonged to, a person's view of the afterlife could be greatly different then another persons. Even inside the same culture there could be vast differences in opinion or view depending on the persons in question. In some ways it was a reflection of the persons personality and views on life in general, as well as their belief in morals and if those stemmed from either man, nature, or some higher or unknown power or directive.

As an extension, someone's view of hell was yet another reflection on their personality, and expectations. Personally, Sasori wasn't sure he believed in hell or the afterlife. He hadn't really expected to ever find out. But, in the last few days he had been given quite a lot of time to think about rather pointless things. For example, he began to think about where he'd end up if he died, which seemed unlikely. He was effectively immortal, and there was no reason for the Village Hidden in the Leaves to kill him, given they'd very successfully sealed off his chakra and removed all his appendages.

And so, here hung Sasori, legendary puppet master of Sunagakure, destroyer of nations and artisan without equal, he who designed true art that lasted for eternity. He supposed it was perhaps both fitting and ironic that he found himself more or less nailed to the wall, a broken torso and head, covered in chakra suppressing seals. He would last forever. Perhaps he'd be an example of how even the mighty could be brought low. But, it was hard to call him art, even in this situation, as there was no one to appreciate it. He did not eat, he did not defecate, and he did not require any other maintenance except perhaps changing out one of the hundreds of seals that peppered the room once every few decades or so.

Then again, maybe he'd die soon too. Akatsuki was not an organization which tolerated failure, particularly not of the magnitude that Sasori had achieved. He had been defeated by one of the very subjects they were intended to capture, a mere child, and hadn't even died like a good failure. No, he'd been shattered and captured. He, being one who hated waiting and making people wait, hadn't bother indulging any sadistic interrogator and had simply told them whatever they asked. It was inevitable. If Akatsuki didn't abandon them and chose to send someone after them to finish the puppet master and his explosive partner off it would be too late regardless. He saved himself the trouble and gave in early. No need to complicate things.

He doubted Deidara would do the same because, after all, Sasori's kōhai was an idiot. An armless idiot, at that. But, then again, Sasori had no limbs at all, so what did that make him?

Drifting back to his earlier thoughts, Sasori began to wonder about hell. He supposed that hell would be a personal reflection of one's inner soul; hell would be the thing he hated the most, for all eternity. That would be eternal torment, and Sasori could admit he deserved it. Not that he regretted any of it, of course, but he did deserve torment. Perhaps the human part of him had feared that subconsciously, and that could have very well factored into his choice to become something more. Something better. But back to the point, hell would be the thing he hated most.

Which, of course, meant that he did not really fear dying because he was already in his own personal hell, forced to wait for either his own death or nothing at all. Forever. Had he still the will, or physical ability, he'd have scowled.

And then there was a bright flash of light, the three-inch long and one-inch wide seals that covered his room glowing bright for a brief second before they simply collapsed, fluttering to the ground like oversized confetti. The sheets were whipped into a frenzy as the door to the cell flew in, slamming into the wall with a tremendous crack. That actually impressed Sasori a small bit; the door was a single piece of cast chakra-attuned metal that had been sealed even more so then the room itself. He knew only a few people who could get around those seals, and even few who could have sent the door flying like that. Those who knew both were even more rare. That narrowed the pool of his possible executioners down considerably. Given the repeated scuffing of feet against concrete that he heard, a steady _thump thump thump_ of hopping, he could guess who had been sent.

"Katsura-san, it is good to see you." Sasori said in his flat monotone.

"It would be nice if it was on better circumstances, Sasori-san." Replied the pale man. His steady hopping never ceased, even as he entered the room. His eyes never left Sasori's shattered form, and a small smirk formed at the corner of his mouth, "You have seen better days."

"Could not anyone else say the same, Katsura? We never realize how good our days are until they are gone."

"Both of our _days_ have long been gone, Sasori-san." Katsura repliedsoftly, tone actually taking on a momentary wistfulness as it did, "Pride brought us to where we were now. Both of us."

Sasori changed subjects quickly, "If you're here to kill me, do it at least quickly. You know I hate being made to wait."

"Of course, Sasori-san." Katsura said with a soft chuckle, showing far more emotion then he did with nearly anyone else. It was a testament to his respect for the puppet master, both as a shinobi, and artist, and as a being who had, abet under far different circumstances then Katsura, escaped the mortal coil based on his own pride. "No need to worry, I'm not going to make you wait any longer."

The hopping man reached into his robe, taking out a small scroll, snapping it open with a quick jerk of his arm. His other arm popped slightly as he ran a hand over one of the many seals on the page, releasing it's stored contents. As the smoke of the summoning cleared, a second hopping figure stood in the room. This one was dressed in traditional funeral garb with peculiar symbols adorning it's blue cloth. A circular, red-colored hat sat on it's head, single paper seal dangling down in front of the man's vacant face. Sasori would have smiled it he could have.

"You have found a way to make more, then?" he intoned, "Impressive. You are a puppet master of your own sort now, it would seem, Katsura-san."

Katsura simply smiled as the man-thing hopped forward, body fresh and arms still free of the rigamortis that would take hold. He had taken to sealing them away just after death and animation, freeing them of some of the stiffness that was very hard for the corpse creatures to overcome. Directed only by his will, the corpse was a nameless and mindless servitor, and nothing more.

However, instead of smashing the tube that contained all that was truly left of Sasori, the corpse instead reached out and yanked Sasori's shattered puppet torso off of the wall, causing a great deal of confusion in the artisan's mind. To his credit, Katsura managed to notice.

"They thought it a waste to simply throw someone of your skill away, Sasori-san. You may not be a direct member of Akatsuki now, but that could change again." Katsura said, "Go regroup. He will call you when he needs you."

He paused a moment before continuing, "You should know, my word is worth little due to my junior status in the organization, but I argued what I could for your… life." He said with a chuckle, "You simply remind me too much of myself, Sasori-san."

The two hopping figures turned and headed out of the cell to find his partner, and hopefully Sasori's as well. Katsura was done spending time here. He was flush with young essence that he'd drained away, and eager to experience some of the joys of flesh before that passed. He knew the perfect little town nearby with a fantastic tavern and an even better brothel. Yes, he would enjoy it while he could, before the warmth in his bones left him once more.

* * *

_A great many miles away, in the Land of Grass…_

Crouched behind a shrubbery, Naruto's azure eyes were locked on an unassuming bridge just inside of Grass Country. His heart was racing, and had been for some time now. The thumping in his chest was growing ever faster as the appointed time got closer, and had he a clearer mind he might have worried about the thumping giving away his presence in this ambush. The plan called for Sai, Hinata-chan, and himself to wait until called by captain Yamato. He was never a truly patient person, and this waiting was driving him crazy. But he would do it, for Sasuke and Sakura. He owed it to them, for all the time it had taken for him to return to their trail.

His mind drifted slightly to the pale boy crouched next to him. Superficially, the boy even somewhat resembled Naruto's old teammate, greatest rival, and brother in all but blood. Had he the quiet, analytical mind of Shikamaru Nara, he might have found that to be a calculated choice. As it was, he gave it little thought except to contrast the two shinobi; it was easy to compare them, but their differences tended to outweigh their similarities. Sasuke was a cold person, but could warm up and show what he really had inside. But Sai was less inclined; the pale boy smiled and acted almost infuriatingly friendly, but so often seemed like a cold and emotionless statue, a pale imitation of real human. Naruto didn't like it.

He didn't like it because deep down, there was a time when he was very much the same. Deep down, only barely conscious to him, the thought that he could have ended up like Sai terrified him, and despite himself made him empathize with the kid. Socially awkward though he was, with a bad habit of insulting everyone and not understanding why that pissed people off, he still wasn't so bad of a guy. As the blond genin waited, his mind drifted slightly back to Sai's earlier words.

They had been walking at a brisk pace, right after they'd left the resort and spa. Naruto had noticed that Hinata was looking over a book of some sort, Sai walking next to her with that somewhat creepy smile on his face. Confusingly, he had bristled slightly seeing him walk so close to Hinata. It was not something he was used to, a feeling he was unable to pinpoint as jealousy due to utter lack of experience with the emotion. At least, inexperienced in that context. Regardless, he had gone over to see what the book was, and discovered it was a hand drawn picture book that Sai had made, a gift for his brother that he'd only recently completed, and hadn't a chance to give him yet.

And then, Sai had told Naruto something he hadn't expected to hear.

'I know what it is like to lose someone precious to you.' He said, smile authentic for a change, 'And what you would do to get them back. Anything, regardless of what anyone told you. Ignoring what they might do to stop you. I know you would stop at nothing. I want to protect that bond.'

Naruto had been speechless for a moment, smiling back at Sai for the first time. Until, of course, the pale stepford-smiler finished his little statement with, 'Even if you are a needle-dicked namby-pamby.'

But, hey, it was progress. He was still an asshole, but so was Sasuke.

The teenager stole a glance at the girl crouched next to him. Her byakugan was active, and she had whispered that someone was coming not long ago. Of course, given her range, that could mean anything. His mind drifted from Sai to his other companion, someone who was very much unlike the teammate she had 'replaced.' Naruto did not like thinking of Hinata as a 'replacement.' He told himself it was because it wasn't at all fair to her. Hinata was a fantastic kunoichi, and a fantastic person, and to think of her as a replacement for anything was completely and utterly unfair. It made him angry to even think of her like that. But, deep down there was something more to it. That anger he felt covered up guilt.

It wasn't something he could acknowledge yet, that nagging guilt. The guilt that Hinata had not only replaced Sakura as his teammate, but the growing realization that he enjoyed her presence as much as he had Sakura's. Guilty that he found Hinata pretty, or even beautiful. Guilty that he found himself wanting to ask her out. Was it guilt that he only did so now that Sakura was gone? Or was it guilt over the fact he was thinking of her less and less. It reared its ugly head every so often, but Naruto was more then used to hiding pain behind a smile.

Of course, Hinata was very adept at seeing through it, nowadays.

Although she was staring off into the distance, tracking the robed figure that was making his way towards the bridge to meet with captain Yamato, her mind was elsewhere. This was likely why she missed the much better hidden figure that was shadowing him. Her mind was, though not as often as some might think, on the blond-haired boy next to her. She fought a blush as she noticed his stolen glance, and for the most part was successful. Close proximity to him had made that easier, and it was always said that necessity was the mother of progress. It was made easier, however, by the fact that she also could see that behind his conviction and smiling, there was turmoil. At first she wrote it off as a simple effect of the mission and progress in recovering his former teammates. But, as she thought about it, she was beginning to realize that it was becoming more and more common for him and had started even before they'd left.

She had wanted to speak with Neji-niisan about it. The elder Hyuuga jounin always had been better at reading people. But, after their 'late' arrival on the Kazekage's recovery mission, Gai-sensei had whisked his whole team off for some sort of 'intensive training' to 'relight their flames of youth' and she hadn't the time to do so. She had momentarily considered asking her father, but the thought of bringing up Naruto to her father filled her with a strange sense of embarrassment and a shade of pink she had usually reserved for when the blond boy was in close proximity to her.

At one point, she had considered asking Tsunade-sensei, but never got the chance. She was remarkably busy and rarely in a pleasant mood it seemed. Something about the elder's being a royal pain from what Hinata could gather. Kakashi had disappeared on a mission, and Kurenai-sensei hadn't spent enough time around Naruto to give any real advice. Kiba was so rarely around as well, given his place in the ANBU Black Ops, and Shino was… well, he was Shino. Not particularly her first choice for advice on human relations. She felt somewhat guilty about not seeing her old teammates or sensei all that much anymore, but found it hard to regret where she was. Which was acting as the lookout for the rest of her squad, she realized rather suddenly, and not daydreaming!

"They are almost to the bridge." She said suddenly, snapping out of her reverie. Naruto stiffened and fixated on the approaching figure. A man, it seemed, from the looks of things. Yamato had begun to walk across the bridge, dressed in the rather impressive disguise that made him a near perfect imitation of Sasori's strange puppet armor. As the two figures met on the bridge, Naruto could once again feel his heart begin to pound.

They were getting closer. He was going to get them back. He'd promised. And he never went back on his word.

Never.


	12. Part 1, Chapter 11: Fight at the Bridge

"Fuuton: Fuugyoku!" Naruto shouted. Fast moving and barely visible spikes of swirling vortex launched from his mouth and peppered Orochimaru. The wind darts drilled through him and all the way down into the bridge, passing through even that before dissipating as they impacted the canyon wall.

Years ago, Naruto might have acted rather exuberant, thinking he'd taken care of a foe with ease. But he had fought Orochimaru before, and he knew the power that the snake sannin possessed. It was because of that fact that he was unsurprised when Orochimaru began to change color and ooze away into mud. It was a substitution with a mud clone, one of Orochimaru's most common evasive techniques.

The nine-tailed jinchuuriki leaped back something exploded in front of him, Orochimaru having made his counter attack. Two red tails danced behind him, fluttering in the wind, and he stared through the dust with his savage, blood red eyes. The White Snake nearly disappeared as he moved, launching up to deliver a kick that Naruto almost failed to block. He brought both of his arms up in front of him and deflected it before bending back, letting the follow up blow sail over him as fell back. He was barely keeping up, even with the Kyuubi chakra coursing through him, and already he could feel the subtle tug on his consciousness to release more of the power.

Distracted, he felt a sudden blow in his chest knock the wind from him before he'd even landed and sent him flying rapidly downwards. He hit the bridge with a thunderous sound, tearing up concrete as he did. The red chakra cloak thankfully absorbed most of the damage, but he was still feeling sore from the repeated blows. He simply wasn't fast enough far too often.

"Come on then, boy. You'll need more then that if you intend to defeat me." Orochimaru said with a sinister chuckle, "You'll never get to Sasuke or Sakura if you don't come at me with all of your power!"

That caused Naruto to grit his teeth as he fought back his inner beast. Each time the bastard brought up his friends he could feel it push harder to be released, knowing his weakness. After the sannin had revealed himself it had become clear that only Naruto was going to be able to go to toe to toe with him, red chakra forming around him in response to Orochimaru's taunting. Naruto had kept it in check for the most part, even as Orochimaru spoke of how loyal Sasuke had been, or how 'the annoying pink haired girl' hung off him. No amount of that had gotten through. Hinata was next to him, and he felt calmed ever so slightly by that fact indeed, it had not been until he had attack Orochimaru that the red chakra began to leak into him.

After Orochimaru had identified Captain Yamato as the only survivor of one of his twisted experiments he had said something that had driven Naruto into a savage rage. Orochimaru said he'd done the same to Sakura, used her as fodder for some twisted experiment that could have killed her. It was simple, almost nonchalant, the way he brought it up, and Naruto felt his system flood with the red chakra of the Kyuubi at hearing the tone. He launched himself at Orochimaru, and the battle had been on.

Captain Yamato had ordered Hinata and Sai back as the battle began, knowing quite well they were useless in this sort of fight, and honestly fearing that Naruto would only somewhat better. He'd been surprised when the match seemed closer then he expected, though still fairly obviously in Orochimaru's favor. Naruto's usage of an elemental technique was also a surprise; Naruto had said during their little ability assessment and simulation that he had been working on those techniques for quite a while but hadn't had any luck with them yet. It had been a pain to convince Jiraiya to teach him, he'd said, but he hadn't really been able to make it work by the time he'd gotten back.

Naruto had released a single tail fairly quickly, which had saved him from a likely lethal blow otherwise. The red chakra had deflected it, but it was clear to Yamato (and Kabuto, who was more familiar with his master), but not to Naruto, that the blow was a testing attack even with its lethal intent and power. Orochimaru had been about to taunt him further when the boy had let out a second tail, and the fight swung slightly more towards his favor. Not really into it, but at least closer to an even match. But, as evident in this latest blow, it still seemed like it would not be enough. However, Naruto was already finding it hard to control the voices in his head, nor the rattling of the cage deep inside of him.

He pushed himself up from the groove and scowled at the white-skinned… thing in front of him. Man was not all that fitting, from what he'd seen the bastard do, and even more so given what he'd heard. The low, rumbling growl he let loose seemed only to amuse Orochimaru, though it did inspire a small spike of fear in the one person Naruto would never want it to.

Hinata looked on with the most conflicted set of feelings she'd ever had. Her desire for Naruto to be safe fought with her hard to eliminate fear of the thing he held inside of him. She was still angry with herself for that fear, telling herself again and again that Naruto would be able to control it, as he had before. She found herself more and more distracted by her feelings. Orochimaru noticed. This was bad.

While it had been his taunting of Naruto that had first brought out the anger and rage, it had not been until he told of the vile things he'd done to one of his precious people that the power of the demon inside of the boy became manifest. Now, while he had taunted and wounded the boy, it was not until he sent an impossibly long snake from his arm to attack the distracted kunoichi that Naruto truly began to lose himself. Hinata was broken from her reaction quite violently as Sai pushed her down. Naruto, on the other hand, went a different direction.

Flying like a meteor, Naruto slammed into Orochimaru with a terrible force. Four tails danced behind him, tearing more grooves into the concrete surface of the bridge while Naruto's own skin began to peel away, tinting the bubbling aura around him a bloody crimson. The spiraling ball of power in Naruto's hand tore into Orochimaru's skin, causing him pain he had not expected; he had let his guard down, just for a second, and he was paying for it. As Naruto pushed, Orochimaru began flying back from the force of the attack, arcing off into the distance.

Hinata, recovered from her shock only to be met by another, could hardly control herself. She began to run towards the jinchuuriki, watching in horror as his skin peeled off and the blood began running from his wounds; that he even could be standing amazed her. She did not heed Captain Yamato's orders to stop, and she wasn't sure why. She wasn't even sure what she could do for him, but she could not help but try and run to him.

A thunderous roar tore through the air. It was a death knell to the bridge, already smashed and damaged from the fight. Naruto so burning with rage, failed to notice the girl who was trying to race towards him, and was unlike you have been able to realize who it was even if he had noticed; his mind was burning, filled with a burning and raw desire: he was going to kill Orochimaru. He had a reason, even if he couldn't remember it anymore. With a massive push that further sealed the death of the bridge, the miniature Kyuubi launched itself off. The force of the leap finished what the roar had started and tore the bridge in half.

Hinata found herself tumbling towards the edge, unable to focus herself enough to get a solid grip as the concrete churned under her. And then, with an ill-timed tumble, she found her world fading to black as her forehead met with a flying piece of rock. Her last thought before unconsciousness claimed her was of a singular thing. Naruto. Simply, profoundly, completely, and wholly Naruto.

Sai had already been running after her when the bridge began to shake and collapse, but was spared a similar situation to his kunoichi teammate due to being farther back, and Captain Yamato's timely attempt to stabilize the bridge with a brace of wooden pillars.

"Grab her, Sai!" he shouted, struggling to hold up the collapsing bridge. He was shaking at the effort. It was with dismay that he watched the pale boy reach for his drawing pad, and then with wonder as he watched a gigantic eagle take off into the sky, and then with a sad lack of confusion as he watched the boy leap right past Hinata's unconscious and tumbling form and onto the other side of the bridge, leaping from piece to falling piece until he reached the other side. He had been warned, and had feared, but this had been the worst possible time for Sai to show his true colors.

He could but watch with mute horror as Hinata rolled over the side of the drooping bridge, his supports unable to do much more then prolong the inevitable. But he was shocked when Sai's inked eagle dove down after Hinata rather then following it's master. The formed tucked its wings in as it dove, clawed feet extending to snatch the falling Hyuuga deftly from the air.

Sadly, it was not meant to be; a massive piece of concrete intercepted the bird as it neared the girl, saving her at least from being crushed by it but also causing the summoned creature to explode into a shower of ink. It had shattered and scattered the rock, but Hinata was still falling.

And Yamato could do nothing to stop it.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, in a hidden location…

The torches flickered as two figures moved around the shadowy room. Sasuke brought his sword to bear again, aiming high as he lashed out for the opponent's neck. A dull vibe echoed through the room as two swords collided. Sasuke made a quick flick and brought the sword across his opponent's legs, only to be intercepted again. He was grinning as he snapped the sword around to strike at the legs from another angle and followed it up by raking his blade up along the opponent's weapon and stabbing forward. He nearly caught them, but as the tip of the chokutou pushed into his opponent he was rewarded with a shattering sound as the crystalline construct collapsed in a heap.

"Good." Sasuke said, "A kawarimi against an unavoidable blow. Very good."

Sakura beamed at his words, never tiring of the praise Sasuke would give her. It was not ever granted lightly, and it always meant something. Sakura had spent enough time with her raven-haired idol to understand him. She knew the warmth he could put out when he let that cold shell melt, but also knew it was never by accident. Sasuke was just too good for that. He was always so cool and in control. She had learnt to stop hanging off him long ago, and that the best way to enjoy his gaze was through earning it.

Her teacher and, at least in her mind, lover was giving her an appraising look and she tried her best not to overdo her obvious happiness at his words. She had also learnt that while Sasuke did not at all begrudge her those joyful moments, and indeed had them himself, she knew that he would not go easy on her should she let her guard down. And, sure enough, he launched yet another series of attacks on her.

Moving in perfect silence, Sasuke made a straight lunge before whipping his blade around in a series of high to low alternating blows. Sakura brought her own weapon, a ninjatou formed from ruby red crystal, up to block. She knew two things about Sasuke's movements, both testaments to his skill in her mind. Firstly, he was moving at only a fraction of his actual speed. He was still stronger and faster then she was, and she knew that there was little chance of her catching up. Secondly, he was giving her subtle openings that were, given the training he'd put her through, almost painfully obvious, but she knew those were red herrings. He was tempting her, in a way.

She did not take the bait. The exercise was blocking and evasion. She was his support, a medical-nin alongside her other combat roles. Thus, he had told her, she had to learn to dodge, and dodge anything. She was wearing leg weights now, a fact that, at first, had actually caused her some trouble. It was not the weight of the training aids, however, but the weight of her memories. She thought of Lee, someone she hadn't thought of for years, and remembered that promise he'd made. For some reason that had made her chest tight. She did not like thinking of Konoha anymore.

There was far more emotional baggage than physical that she had brought along.

"You're distracted again, Sakura." Sasuke said, "We'll take a break."

It was not a question, but a statement. Sakura said nothing, as she knew there was nothing to say. He was right, as he so often was, and it was not judgment in his voice. Sasuke had grown increasingly controlled in his tone, but Sakura had been there with him the entire time. To others it might sound like disinterest, or even boredom, but Sakura heard what they did not. It was subtle concern, but without disapproval.

She was not fond of the dark of the training rooms, nor their current location. Sakura was hardly fond of the desert. Too hot, and it dried out her skin, and it split her hairs and… well, it just made life difficult. Despite her training, and the time spent, she had not let herself lose that feminine touch.

She was, after all, a woman still and she spent a majority of her time around the man of her dreams. It would take a miracle to stop her from at least attempting to make herself look nice. Sasuke even commented some times, rarely of course, but those small comments had only made her more certain that it was a good idea.

Sasuke sheathed his blade and turned to leave without a word, causing Sakura to hurry slightly to catch up and fall in behind him. She released her hold on the crystal sword, watching as it broke into countless shards before it had even hit the ground. The sword was effective, but without her chakra constantly holding it together it became far more fragile. The pair headed out of the room, though Sakura was unsure of where they were going.

Not that it mattered, of course. She'd follow him anywhere.

* * *

_At a hidden location a few miles outside of Konoha..._

Makoto had never liked his ANBU mask. He was not shy of telling people this, or anything really. He was a straight shooter all the way through and down to his core. When it came to his mask, he was very open about how he hated the Whale-faced porcelain mask, and how he would have taken just about anything else. Not only was it fairly unflattering, he really wasn't fond of the giant blobs of blubber.. No, he hated his mask, and was not at all shy about saying it. This, of course, did not go over well with everyone.

He had done a stint as a guard at the facility, when he was just a raw chuunin and new inductee of the ANBU Black Ops, because he has apparently annoyed one of the ANBU captains with his constant 'inane whining' as he'd termed it. Maktoto bristled about it still, just thinking about the never. He was just being honest, brutally so, no need to be a prick about it. Or, at least, that's what Makoto thought. But, orders were orders and he was thus assigned a job at the remote prison facility. It was a dead-end assignment, a punishment really, and he knew it. The ANBU who were assigned there were rarely very skilled, often the worst, or simply pissed someone high up off. Luckily, he learned to control his tongue a bit and was transferred back into more active service after six months.

Now, he once again found himself standing in the courtyard of the facility he'd grown to detest. So boring, with such horrible company. Some of them were still here. In a manner of speaking, at least. They were corpses, barely recognizable even as that, and were either gaunt figures with terror on their face or smashed into unrecognizable pulp. It was gruesome, and Makoto wondered if it was a bad or good thing that he wasn't blanching at it. He'd seen many things in his career, and the fact this wasn't the worse scared him a bit. Unfortunately for the rest of the ANBU operatives there, Makoto had a way of coping with fear.

He started talking. A lot.

It took just one trigger, and in a very sudden amount bad luck for the rest of the operatives, someone gave it to him.

"What the hell kind of guy can take out twelve of us without leaving a single mark behind?" Rooster said, crouched over one of the piles of gory mush. He poked it once with the end of his ninjatou and shook his head.

"You know-" Makoto began, causing many eyes to roll behind masks, "I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but these guys weren't exactly the crème de la crop. And we all know it. These guys got this job just because of that."

He looked up to find all seven of the other operatives staring at him. Makoto frowned, "What? It's true."

They kept staring, causing him to scowl, "I call it like I see it, I'm the Whale ANBU."

_

* * *

_

_Meanwhile, in Konoha, at the office of the Hokage..._

Tsunade was conflicted in a new an unusual way. On one hand she was rather distraught over the sudden attack on one of their prisoner facilities, an attack that came without warning and smashed through twelve ANBU operatives. Perhaps not the best of the ANBU operatives, but it was still twelve lives lost. It was not at all a lapse in judgment; protocol was completely followed in placing the two captured Akatsuki in the facility, and she knew there was little to fear from that. No, it was the simple fact that the attack had been so close to Konoha.

The hokage stood up from her desk and turned to one of the windows behind her. She sighed and crossed her arms behind her as looked out over the village, but her face curled into a mild smirk afterwords.

The conflict was that she knew quite well that that she would enjoy, in a subtle way, shoving the fact that having Naruto out of the village proved to be a good thing; much farther from Akatsuki, and dangerously disproving their theory of him being far safer in the village, in a way. Which, of course, worried her at the same time. Hence the conflict of a sort she'd never experienced.

"Stay safe, you little brat." she said to no one in particular, once again letting out a long sigh. "Or else I'll never forgive you."

* * *

Back in Grass Country, at Tenchi Bridge…

Hinata had little time to comprehend her situation as she was set down on the ground. Her brain felt like it was working overtime as it attempted to catch up. A sharp pain ran through her head as she thought, causing her to instinctively bring a hand up to hold it. What had happened?

"Careful, Hinata." Someone said, "You took quite a blow, there."

Her lavender eyes flashed open suddenly as things flowed back to her. She had been chasing Naruto, trying to help him. She could not remember why, just knowing that she had to help him with something. Something of the utmost importance, something she'd seen and had to fix. Her mind raced as she thought, unable to recall it. She wanted to scream but the ability to escape. It had been so important, but…

Her eyes began to focus in the bright light and she noticed a shadowy form straighten up and then leap off into an unknown direction. Captain Yamato was crouched next to her, looking off into the same direction as he spoke.

"Just take it easy, you're lucky to be alive." He said with a sigh, truly wondering what she had been thinking charging across a collapsing bridge like that.

Hinata tried to push herself up, succeeding in propping herself up on her elbows as her eyes finally adjusted. She wanted to be frantic, to look around every which way, but she couldn't summon up the energy for it. The young Hyuuga turned to Yamato with a concerned frown.

"Where is he, Yamato-san?" she asked, eyes wide with fear, "Where is Naruto?"

* * *

The seething mass of red chakra that was Naruto launched itself at Orochimaru and brought one of his claw-like hands down, raking it across the sannin's chest. He tore back, tearing flesh and cloth with equal ease. Orochimaru pushed himself back, only barely avoiding a much greater wound then he received. But it was not pain that flashed across his face, but rather amusement. He'd not had a fight like this for ages.

They'd landed quite a bit away from the bridge, coming down in a fairly large forest clearing and promptly went to work making it larger. The Naruto's four tailed form was pushing Orochimaru for all it was worth, a savage and very feral wisdom driving him onward without even an ounce of self-preservation. Pain was an illusion, for even if the white snake had something to break his hide, he was already wracked with such searing pain as to know that anything the bastard could do to him would be nothing.

He knew this, and he did not know this. His mind was a burning as the demonic chakra pumped through his system, dulling his human mind and whispering dark and feral things to him. Some of it was practical. Strike now, leap here, lash out strongly at this point. Others were less so, and were of such a sort that Naruto attempted to ignore them all together. The effort of keeping the dark and unwanted thoughts out left him open for other less dark, but equally savage thoughts to worm in. It preyed on his desire to protect, twisting that to a desire to destroy.

Destroy the thing. Destroy Orochimaru. Why? There was a very important reason, a reason he knew, subconsciously, was more important than any other reason at the moment. He did not know why, he did not know what it even was. But he knew it was precious, something very close to his heart. And for that, he would destroy Orochimaru. It made sense to him. Or as much sense as his mind could muster as the whisperings of an ancient demon ran through his mind.

Grass boiled away under him as he crouched low, four tails lashing around behind him. His white eyes focused in on his prey, but while he had expected fear, all he saw was amusement. Orochimaru was grinning at him, as if he hadn't a care or worry at all. Rage filled him.

He threw his head back and let a thunderous roar echoed across the field. As the chakra-enhanced wave of air pressure burst out the first rows of trees began to uproot and tumble away, and yet Orochimaru simply stood there. Wind lashed at him, but he moved not an inch.

High above the field, Sai found himself struggling to control the ink construct he'd created. Guiding it down, he leaped off just before it impacted with the treeline and, with some difficulty, managed to attach himself to the trunk of a particularly stout tree and hold on for dear life as the world turned into a pine needle hurricane around him.

"Hm hm hm... Naruto-kun seems angry." Orochimaru said with a sinister smirk, "Come on, is that the best you can-"

The sannin's words were cut off as the ground cracked under him and tendrils of red chakra burst up from it. Orochimaru found himself even more amused; the roar had been a feint, a distraction, it would seem. He leaped upwards, only to find himself chased by a massive red claw that broke up from the ground. The claw wrapped around him and squeezed, crushing him to a pulp.

Sizzling mud splattered the ground, causing Naruto to let out another angry howl. A substitution, how basic. He wrenched his arm back, letting it tear through the ground and absorb back into him just as the sannin reappeared. Orochimaru walked calmly in from the edge of the recently expanded clearing.

"Hm hm hm, seems I did underestimate you. Your not as stupid as it seems when you take that form. A fox's cunning, how fitting." he said, softly clapping his hands. Naruto let off a smaller growl, white eyes narrowing. This prey was far to uppity for it's own good. The air around him seemed to thicken for a moment, gathering towards his mouth Orochimaru watched with the same amusement he'd treated the rest of the fight with, perhaps blissfully unaware of the grave danger this new trick had.

The glowing ball began to shrink down, gathering and condensing into a barely visible pinprick. As Orochimaru watched, a small bit of concern wormed it's way into his mind. That much chakra, condensed into such a small area, would gravely wound even him if it struck. Of course, how he'd manage to use it escaped the sannin, which was perhaps why he remained so still and entranced by the technique. This was new, something he never had heard of before. It was beautiful.

And then, in an almost comical gesture, Naruto ate it. And promptly nearly flattened himself to the ground due to the weight. As Orochimaru pondered the reason he'd even consider it, given how heavy it was, he had a strange instinct to take cover. His eyes widened as Naruto's mouth began to glow, and slammed both his fists down to the ground.

* * *

Hinata's eyes widened as a second sun lit up the horizon, a single thought on her mind.

_'Naruto.'_

* * *

**Author Note:**

A recommendation to anyone who likes fan fics: look up Nugar's People Lie. It's one of the best stories I've read, period, not just on this site, and I've made quite a few homages to it over time, and likely will continue to do so. Nugar is also a very interesting fellow. I wish I had half his reader base, as well. :P

Also, a request. If you like this story, put me on Author Alert, rather then Story Alert, as I plan to start two or three new stories soon, and am going to put a little teaser thing here. If you like it, toss me on the alert and you'll read them when they go up.

Oh, and one final thing: while Pack Light has followed the canon story fairly closely, this is intentional. The major changes are coming, and everything here is a set up for that. The smallest changes can have a major impact. Indeed, the first 15 or so chapters will be little more then a set-up device for the actual story changes to unfold.

OH! Minor language note, too! Fuuton: Fuugyoku is Wind Release: Wind Sphere. Similar to Danzou's Vacuum technique, abet more wind and less vacuum.


	13. Part 1, Chapter 12: A Fight For Survival

The resplendent beam of pure chakra tore up the ground, gouging a deep trench as it slammed into the first of Orochimaru's summoned Rashoumon gates. The beam didn't even slow down as it tore through the first of the demonic faces and continued onward, but that split second caused a flash of power which further deepened the massive crater formed when the beam fired off. The first gate was intended to take an attack head on, but should it fail the second gate was to make up for it. But second gate fell soon after the first with no better showing, and it was not until the third gate that the beam finally met it's match.

Having bled off too much power through the second gate, which had been intended to weaken a strike, the impact against the third gate, which was intended to disperse the pressure, caused an even greater blast that nearly completely replaced one crater with another one of greater size. Violent winds once again shook through the trees and kicked up a massive dust cloud that hung thick in the air. Naruto stared straight ahead, only barely panting despite the attack. It took only a small bit of chakra to trigger the attack, gathering most of it's power from outside. In many ways it was similar to Naruto's trademark rasengan; a self-sustaining chakra reaction that took surprisingly little chakra to initiate and was limited instead by the severe level of control required.

Perhaps, in a feral way, this similarity was not unexpected. After all, the nine-tailed beast sealed into Naruto had shaped his chakra coils as he grew. Perhaps, and just perhaps, there was more to that then met the eye.

He surveyed the devastation with little emotion; the complex thought escaped him as the demon chakra coursed through and over him. With a low roar he pushed away the cloud of dust and dirt, eyes scanning for the sign of his prey. Feral pleasure ran through him as he failed to find it, not even a single trace of the snake remained; his summons were gone, his body completely blown away. His four tails flailed in delight as he prepared to let out a victory roar. Naruto had just enough time to look down as the ground cracked under him and a sword tip drove straight at his chest

The blade struggled against the cloak of red chakra and sent him flying back, extending constantly it drove Naruto upwards. His claws wrapped around the blade in reflex, unable to understand the danger of such and action and yet not finding any fault it either. Soon after the head of Orochimaru broke to the surface, green snake jutting from his throat and sword blade jutting from that. The snake felt strangely smug; he had just faced his own death, an unfamiliar experience. He could feel his body weakening and knew he'd burned of quiet some time with it as a result of his actions here. But he was still alive, and he had caught the Naruto-kun at last.

Or so he thought. Orochimaru soon realized that the blade was not piercing into the young ninja, instead driving him back. It was with a mix of annoyance and entertainment that he realized that even the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, Long Sword of the Heavens, was unable to pierce the cloak of red chakra that surrounded the boy's body. Truly remarkable, and a shame that such power was wasted on the brat. Orochimaru pondered what sort of host the boy might have made had he not a healthy amount of wariness when it came to attempting to possess such a body. Perhaps some day, but such a thing was beyond him now.

He pushed himself upwards out of the ground, body still wet from his earlier 'shedding' to avoid a death blow from the massive attack and continued to drive the blade upwards, hoping to perhaps wear down on the magnificent defense. After all, it couldn't stop _everything_, could it?

Sai watched with a mix of concern for his fledgling friend and mild satisfaction as Naruto was pushed off into the air, assured, at least, that he would likely be safe behind that protective cloak of his. He shunted the thoughts from his mind, remembering back to the methods of purging his emotions that had been drilled into him. He silently retrieved the sketchbook from his bag and began to draw, pausing a moment after he had. Looking off into the direction of his teammates he let his stoic face slip ever so slightly. And then, without word, he returned to his drawing.

He would ask for forgiveness later. That was what Shin would do. Wasn't it?

Some distance from him, another figure watched the exchange in hidden silence, contemplating his next move. The figure crouched and pressed himself closer to one of the stouter tree trunks that had been able to weather Orochimaru's prodding of the feral beast. His next move would depend on what the newest member of Team Kakashi did, he supposed. Yes, it would depend all on him.

* * *

Hinata's byakugan let her see many things, but sometimes there were things she truly wished she could forget. Seeing Naruto in that state, and knowing what it was doing to his body underneath. The seething red chakra almost stung to watch, even from the vast distance. She had seen what it was doing to him before, burning away at his body, and the pale-eyed girl began to fear that perhaps that would be it; there would be nothing left of him when that horrible chakra receded. The thoughts of what was happening to him was tearing her up inside, and yet she couldn't turn her eyes or mind away from it.

Her kekkei genkai had activated as an afterthought as the three Rashoumon gates rose up from the ground, only to be nearly blinded by the bright flash of the attack they'd been summoned to defend against. The edges of the blasting wind reached even the ruined remains of the bridge, causing the young girl to duck her head away, just for a moment, as the wave of pressure washed over her. It was an instinctive reaction, and her special eyes deactivated the moment she did. And just in time.

"Well, it seems Naruto-kun is putting up quite a fight." Kabuto said, causing both Yamato and Hinata to snap their heads towards him. He was standing by the broken bridge, acting so peculiarly nonchalant as he stared off into the distance. The pair of Konoha ninja found themselves caught off guard, but recovered quickly.

Several wooden beams shot up from the ground, spiraling around in an attempt to grapple onto the Konoha traitor. Kabuto's hand was in motion almost faster then could be seen, blue glow surrounding it in his Chakura no Mesu jutsu and slicing cleanly through the beams. Light flashed on Kabuto's glasses as he spun, cloak fluttering, "Oh, I was expecting more from one of Orochimaru-sama's old experiments."

Yamato responded without words, causing another group of pillars to shoot up from the ground, chasing after Kabuto as he leaped backwards and evaded them, slicing through those that got too close. He was just about to speak again when he felt a sharp and precise pain in his shoulder. Glancing, he noticed a glowing needle of chakra, shaped in the form of a simple senbon, sticking out from the side. It stuck for a moment before dissolving into a tiny bit of water. His eyes snapped to Hinata, noticing and she began the windup for another set of throws.

"Impressive control and accuracy. To be expected from a Hyuuga." Kabuto said with a grin, somersaulting back as the needles and wooden growths continued to chase after him. But he was too fast, they'd never be able to catch him at this rate. They hadn't enough people to do so. Kabuto was a master spy and a medical prodigy; both of those meant he had to be very good at evasion and he'd taken those lessons to heart. It was a shame, but the two simply didn't realize they were out of their league. Yes, so sad.

His body froze up as he felt a sudden pulse of chakra from behind him, unable to evade. His head turned just enough to see a pale-eyed girl, one he suddenly realized looked very much like the same girl he'd healed all those years ago during the Chuunin exam finals. Her hand was glowing blue and she was moving far too fast to evade. And, knowing the Hyuuga, there would be no blocking. You couldn't block. She thrust her palm forward, and he felt his body go rigid as chakra was forced through it even before the palm struck in the very center of his back.

"Hakke Seikishou." she whispered, leaping back as Yamato's wooden bindings shot up and wrapped around him, binding him in place. Kabuto watched, paralyzed, as the Hinata he'd seen in front of him dissolved into a puddle of water, causing him to grin. A Mizu Bunshin. It created water needles out of it's own body. Clever. Very clever. He struggled against the bindings, attempting even as the pale-eyed girl's chakra coursed through him.

The impact caused them all to turn in shock. A scant few meters away, still shrouded in the seething red chakra, Naruto Uzumaki had impacted, tip of an impossibly long sword attempting, unsuccessfully, to pierce through his cloak.

* * *

_Thousands of miles away, in the Land of Earth..._

Kisame brought the massive sword Samehada up in front of him, barely shuddering as stream of lava impacted it. The smell of burnt cloth filled the air as the sword's wrappings began to burn away, revealing sections of the monstrous weapon as they fell away. Kisame simply smiled and swung the sword in a wide arc as the stream came to an end, flicking the remaining lava off the blade and into the wall of the canyon with almost contemptuous ease. This jinchuuriki was just barely making things interesting, which Kisame supposed was at least something. He hadn't had a good fight in so very long.

"Ah, come on then, Roushi-san. You'll have to do better then that." the blue man said swinging his sword back around and resting it across his shoulder. He grinned, sharp teeth glinting as he did.

"Hmph." was all the red-haired man said in replied as he assumed an unknown stance, mouth and nostrils still smoking lightly from his earlier attack. His fingers stretched slightly as he adjusted the grip on one of his unique curved kunai. He was easily well into his fourties, but Kisame had to admit he moved like a man far younger than that.

As if inspired by the blue-skinned man's thoughts, Roushi launched himself towards the swordsman at a remarkable pace, chest puffing slightly and cheeks bulging as he ran. Kisame brought his sword back into a defensive position as Roushi spit a number of orange globs at him. Reacting quickly, Kisame puffed up his own cheeks and began shooting out bullets of water, intercepting the blobs as they flew. The orbs of lava hissed and steamed as the water struck, abet not with the results Kisame was hoping for. The cooled orbs had hardened into balls of razor-sharp obsidian and continued racing towards their target.

Kisame had only a few moments to duck out of the way as the first of the projectiles neared him, letting them pass around him. He let Samehada's tip fall as Roushi moved in with that unexpected speed, but sent the old man back as he swung the massive sharkskin sword upwards, cutting off Roushi's charge and forcing him to backflip away to avoid the attack. Kisame was still grinning ear to ear, having realized that perhaps he had underestimated Roushi as well. Perhaps the fight would be even more interesting then he thought.

He had arrived not long before, having finally tracked Roushi down after quite some time spent hunting the jinchuuriki of the Four-Tailed Monkey. The old coot had been particularly hard to track down, long having left his village and taken to seclusion. He had spent decades training to control the tailed beast sealed inside of him, as well as the gift and power he possessed as a result of that sealing. Although Youton, or Lava Release, was not the rarest of the elemental combinations found it some ninja, it was still a powerful one and Roushi had been gifted with a particularly powerful manifestation of it. But his manifestation was also somewhat unstable, given the nature of the same tailed beast that gave it to him. That was why he had spent so many years in solitude, mastering the beast sealed into him.

This training, combined with his age, actually made him particularly more dangerous then many Jinchuuriki who could only control the barest minimums of their tailed beast's power. But not so with Roushi. He had achieved a whole different level of control.

Itachi watched from a distance, standing from the branches of one of the trees lying on the edge of deep canyon that Roushi had chose to fight in. The elder Uchiha knew it had been a conscious choice, as well. His youton and katon, or fire release, techniques benefited greatly from the enclosed space, and the rocky terrain gave him access to materials for doton, or earth release, techniques as well. That level of planning also meant he had realized he was being hunted, which made the fact that he had been so hard to find far clearer; he'd been avoiding them. Realizing he couldn't so so forever, Roushi had decided instead to pick the battlefield and stack the deck in his favor.

It was clever, and against most foes it would be enough. But, Itachi knew, Kisame was not most foes.

Roushi leaped to the right, sticking to the canyon wall, fingers flying through a number of complicated hand seals. Itachi smiled as he watched, sharingan breaking down the move even as it was formed, but knew that he would never be able to perform it.

"Youton: Daiyouhou no Jutsu." Roushi said, "Great Directions Technique!"

Another massive plume of lava burst from his mouth with tremendous force. This one, however, was larger then before, and Kisame knew that he'd be unable to fully block it with Samehada. The blue man slammed his blade into the ground and pried up the ground, causing a large slab of stone to upturn itself and absorb the impact. Droplets of lava shower the area around Kisame, but never struck him.

He began gathering chakra in his mouth, eventually letting off his own stream of water as Roushi closed in. But he wasn't targeting the jinchuuriki, but rather the stone he'd used to block. The water struck and began to rapidly cool it, causing the stone to explode with concussive force right as Roushi leaped over it. The red haired man was thrown back and came to a skidding halt, though he managed to recover right before Kisame brought Samehada down where his head has been a moment ago.

Roushi rolled as Kisame slid his sword forward after him, hands moving even as he rolled. During one of them he pressed his hands against the ground, the sound of hims saying 'Doton: Doryūheki' not even making it over the sound of grinding earth as a wall of stone and dirt shot upwards, cutting off Kisame's advance and giving Roushi enough time to pick himself up. Just in time too, as moments later Kisame darted around the wall and brought Samehada around in a wide slashed. Roushi bent back and let the blade pass over him and lashed out with one of his own kunai, only to have it blocked as Kisame let the attack continue and spun around, moving his weapon to vertically and blocking the strike. Kisame pushed off, driving Roushi back. The red-haired man back flipped once more, acting very much like monkey sealed inside of him as he moved.

Kisame began to form a number of hand seals as Roushi flew back, cheeks puffing up as he gathered his chakra. He threw his head forward and wreched, a torrent of water flowing from his mouth and tearing through the canyon at breakneck speed. In the distance, Itachi watched with great interest. It was not often that Kisame resorted to his powerful ninjutsu. His suiton techniques were massive in power and scope, and the Bakusui Shouha was one of the largest. Kisame was riding the wave, cackling as it bore down the four-tails Jinchuuriki.

Roushi continued his acrobatics, trying to put distance between the rushing wall of water and himself as he flew through his own hand signs. The roar of the water drowned out his audible call as well, but he said it out of habit anyway.

"Youton: Youyou no Jutsu." he said, "Lava Calamity Technique!"

Once more his chest and cheeks began to puff up as he gathered his own chakra, he took one final jump and spun halfway around, spewing a cone of glowing lava from his mouth down towards the ground in front of the approaching wave. The water impacted the lava, causing it to evaporate and harden the rock, quickly weakening the massive wave as it ran over more and more of the lava. Roushi continued to expel the magma, eventually forcing Kisame to leap from his own wave as it went up in steam. The momentum lost, a wall of black obsidian suddenly stood between two pools; one of foaming water, the other of bubbling lava. Kisame landed on the water and slung Samehada onto his shoulder, chuckling.

"Alright, so you've got a bit of fight in you." Kisame said, "You're not bad at all, for a monkey man."

"You're not so bad yourself, for a freaky fish guy." was Roushi's reply, Lava forming into stone beneath his feet as he walked on the surface of the lava pool. The blue Akatsuki couldn't help but be a small bit impressed by that; any normal person would be roasted alive by sheer proximity to the lava, but Roushi had indeed become quite adept at using his gift. "I'd like to see you come and get me here, then. If you can stand the heat. I always did like my fish seared."

"Funny." Kisame replied, still grinning, "How do you do that?"

"Youtei no Jutsu. Important Point Technique. And many years of practice."

"It's really quite clever, Monkey Man."

"Glad you think so, Freaky Fish Guy."

They paused for a moment, both grinning ear to ear. Roushi, because he thought he had the foe right where he wanted them now. And Kisame, because he was having more fun then he had in a long time, at least when it came to fighting. Almost simultaneously they began running through hand seals, both of which showed both great similarity as well as key differences. But the end result was the same. Curling up behind each of the combatants formed a pillar of their respective elements. The towering spires began to form as they grew in size, first simply a crude similarity before they took on their true and final forms.

"Youton: Youyuuryuudan no Jutsu." Roushi said as the spire took the form of a magma dragon, globlets of lava spilling from it's open jaws. "Calamity Calling Dragon Missile Technique."

Kisame simply kept his trademark grin as a massive shark formed out of the water, thrashing about in barely contained rage, "This is my Suikoudan no Jutsu. Water Shark Missile."

The two let their beasts roar one last time before they dove at each other with deadly intent.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the Land of the Waterfall..._

Two black and red robed men walked down a jungle path, familiar territory for one while completely new and, as it would be, unbearable to another. The first had not stepped foot inside his native land for many years, not since the day he had left in such a bloody manner. He grew to hate his village, and rather unamused to find himself sent back to it. But Fuu, Jinchuuriki of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle, was there waiting for them and so it was back to his home that Kakuzu went.

"Goddamn, why is it so fucking humid? I feel like I'm fucking drowning here." Hidan shouted, throwing his hands in the air for effect. "If I wanted to crawl around in steamy I would have stayed in my fucking hometown."

"Shut up, Hidan." was all Kakuzu said, taking the lead as they walked the roughly worn path towards the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. The masked Akatsuki was in a particularly foul mood, unwilling to banter with the partner he was stuck with. The genius of sticking him with a partner he couldn't kill was sure brilliance on the part of Pain. He'd gone through too many other partners before. At least, Kakuzu had thought, they were missing-nin and thus had a fair bit of bounty on their heads. Pain had him toss the reward money for killing them into the group coffers too.

But now they'd stuck him with this foul-mouthed religious nutjob who had proven time and time again that he was simply unkillable. Supposedly, this was because of some secret religious ritual performed in service to his god Janshin. As far as Kakuzu was concerned, Hidan was simply too stupid to die, and he confirmed it each and every day.

"No, seriously! What the fuck is with this heat? You used to live here? What a fucking dump! Who builds a fucking villa-."

Hidan's arm suddenly found itself lying on the ground, the momentarily confused zealot staring down at the ground before he spoke.

"Fucking hell, that fucking hurt you fucking asshole prick! Goddamn!" Hidan shouted, his partner simply continuing on walking.

"I said to shut up."

* * *

_Back in Konoha..._

Otter-san was a relatively new member of the ANBU, having just received his mask a short time ago. The ninjatou strapped to his back was fresh, not yet having been drawn in anger, and in truth he had yet to go on a real mission even. But, he had been clamoring for his chance. Now he was standing in the office of the hokage, grinning like mad beneath his mask as Lady Tsunade herself informed him of his first assignment, an assignment she'd hand picked him for due to what she called 'loyalty and unique skills.'

He could feel his nose twitching in excitement. Beside him, senior members of the ANBU stood. Panda, a purple-haired female he knew was deadly with the katana that was strapped across her back, and a relatively unknown ANBU with what appeared to be a Whale on his mask. Perhaps a water user?

"Your mission is simple, on the surface." she began, "I'm sure you have heard of the attack on hidden ANBU prisoner facility. In fact, I believe Whale-san was amongst the response team."

So it was a Whale, alright. Otter noticed Whale softly nodding, but his attention was quickly returned to the Godaime as she began speaking once more.

"You are to track down those responsible. However, I want you to exercise extreme caution. These are dangerous and clearly powerful shinobi we are dealing with. They managed to, apparently without injury, take down over a dozen ANBU operatives."

"Well, they weren't exactly the best of the best, ma'am." Whale suddenly said, causing the three others in the room to turn and stare at him. Silence reigned for a moment before he continued, "What? I call it like I see it, I'm the Whale ANBU."

A vein momentarily bulged on Tsunade's head before she continued, managing to restrain herself from sending the yappy operative flying through a wall. She needed them to be in tip top shape for the mission, and at least she knew she could trust these three. None of them had any association with Danzou or the bastard's little Root pet project, and all of them had, in their own ways, the utmost loyalty to the village. Given the threats they faced, it was Otter, in particular, she trusted, despite his newness.

"As I was saying." Tsunade said with authority, bringing attention back to her, "Your mission is to locate, but not engage, these shinobi. Report back constantly, and for the love of God don't try to be a hero. You're no good to anyone dead.

"Otter." she said after a brief pause, "I want you to stay for a moment. Whale, Panda, you are dismissed."

They disappeared after a brief bow, fading into a swirl of leaves, Tsunade walked back and took a seat at her desk, sighing heavily. "You may remove you mask, Otter."

The fresh ANBU nodded, pulling up the mask slowly. His face was, despite his age, still somehow playful and boyish, the red fang-like markings on his face giving evidence to his Inuzuka heritage.

"These are the ones after Naruto, aren't they, hokage-sama." the ANBU said with a feral grin. Tsunade simply smiled.

"Yes, Kiba, they are."

* * *

Shikamaru watched as Chouji reached across the table and took up yet another strip of meat from the grill, inhaling it's delectable smell before nearly literally inhaling it as well. The Konoha chuunin was still dressed as he often was, standard chuunin outfit and standard chuunin vest. Shikamaru liked to consider himself a very standard chuunin, as a whole, perhaps the most standard of his generation. He liked being standard, and compared to the bottomless hole that was the lovable Chouji Akamichi and the now even more scary Ino Yamanaka, he was very much standard.

Chouji had gone from a slightly chubby kid to a literal wall of a man. Towering over nearly all his friends, the portly Akamichi had strength to back up his size and had become unsurprisingly effective with this clan's hiden techniques. Shikamaru had always believed in Chouji, knowing full well the potential he had, and the level of loyalty and friendship he possessed. He was, by far, Shikamaru's closest and best friend. His other teammate was...

Well, complicated. Troublesome didn't even begin to explain it.

Ino Yamanaka had started off as a fairly standard female graduate of the generation. Which is to say she started off as an extremely annoying and fairly weak kunoichi who obsessed over an iceburg of a boy who had absolutely no interest in her nor any other female, which gave great question to his sexual orientation in many peoples eyes. Shikamaru was not one of those people. He was smart enough to know Sasuke was simply an emotionally traumatized person who went about dealing with it in a very wrong way. But that was his place, and Shikamaru had long since realized that it was going to take something far greater then Shikamaru could muster to shake him out of that little emotional tangle.

And, of course, that he didn't honestly care.

But back on subject, which was... oh, yes, Ino Yamanaka. A very annoying girl who had quickly become a very annoying _and_ scary girl in a short few years. Which, incidentally, was the fault of one Sasuke Uchiha. Some might say it was more directly the result of the actions of her best friend, Sakura Haruno, but in truth Shikamaru knew that Sakura's own change was directly related to that of Sasuke, and therefor could be directly linked back to him. For this reason, Shikamaru really wished he'd have succeeded on that retrieval mission to avoid the troublesome changes Ino would go through. Changes he really hadn't seen coming.

She sat across from him, dressed the latest version of her new outfit. She had, at first, simply taken to wearing the gray trench coat of her teacher, the terrifying Ibiki Morino, wore. But she had taken it a step farther after she officially became a member of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force. Namely, she took the whole gray uniform. Abet, of course, with her own modifications. The uniform was fitted to her and rather tight at that; apparently she'd learned to use her body as a weapon in yet another manner, and had learned instead to tease and taunt in place of flaunting. And, in place of a pair of gray slacks she wore a miniskirt that came up a few inches above her knees. The sleeves were rolled up on the top as well, fishnet on both her knees and her elbows, 'a little bit of extra seductive oomph' she'd once refereed to it as. Oh, and the trench coat, of course. She'd kept that. Her hair was cut the same, one oversized bang covering half her face and the rest hanging down behind her. She seemed like a walking contradiction.

Shikamaru was very nervous around her, and he did not know why.

Which, of course, was picking up again. The old Team 10 was the only team from the Rookie 9 to have actually survived fully intact. There was little point in discussing the fate of Team 7, but Team 8 was at least a bit more interesting. Kiba Inuzuka was ANBU now, and Hinata was reassigned to Team Kakashi, apparently by the hokage's request. She had been Tsunade's apprentice, so that wasn't too surprising. Sometimes Shikamaru wished Ino would have been taken on as an apprentice. Would have made things so much easier.

Instead, now she was even better at getting inside minds and reading people then before, and far better then any one person had a right to be. Shikamaru could think. He was a thinker, and a damn good one at that. But, where Ino lacked his raw genius she gained in manipulative mind games. And even he was vulnerable to them.

Case in point...

"So what do you think is taking Asuma-sensei so long?" Ino asked innocently, picking up a piece of meat of her own. Shikamaru couldn't help but notice she was at least eating better since she took her place as Ibiki's apprentice. But he also couldn't help but notice that even Chouji was eating slightly less, and leaving a fair bit of it to her too. That was surprising, or perhaps not.

"Speak of the devil." Shikamaru said as their teacher arrived, sliding into his seat next to Ino with a grin. It was then that the show began.

"You're late, Asuma-sensei." Ino said matter-of-factly, almost offhand in the way she said it. She tucked a small bit of rice into her mouth, looking at the bearded smoker with those expectant eyes that seemed to draw you in and...

Moving on. Asuma simple chuckled, "Sorry about that, team. Was pulled away for something important."

"Important, you say?" Ino said quickly, but yet never changed her tone. Asuma paused only a moment before nodding in reply.

"Yes, jounin business."

Ino never let more then two seconds go by after her spoke without replying.

"So you were with some other jounin?"

"Yes."

"A lot of them."

"No, not many."

"Oh." she said, with a distinct tone that said it was less a question and more a statement. Shikamaru saw what she was doing and found himself both impressed and annoyed.

"Er, yes. Just one, really." Asuma replied with a barely visable blush that Shikamaru was surprised anyone could notice. Chouji wouldn't, he knew, so focused on his food. He had only barely, and it made him wonder how long it had been there. But Ino... Shikamaru knew she had seen it long before.

"Ah, how is Kurenai?" she asked suddenly.

"Doing wel-l..." he said, and then turned off with a cough. Ino simply grinned. The secret was hard to keep with people like Shikamaru and Ino as some of your closest friends. And they were friends, even if he was their teachers. Long had passed that, though, as it so often did with teams. Still, it was very hard to keep anything secret around them, a flaw, he supposed, in that little relationship.

Satisfied, Shikamaru frowned as he saw Ino turn her attention to him. He was dreading this.

"So, Shikamaru. I hear the chuunin exams are about ready to start again."

"That's right." he replied simply, trying to avoid this but knowing good and well it was impossible.

"Soooo... how is Temari?" she asked, and he noticed a strange and almost hostile tone to the way she asked it, subtle, but there.

He sat in silence for a moment before grumbling.

"How troublesome."

* * *

_At the ruins of the Tenchi Bridge..._

Hinata simply stared Naruto, byakugan activated and watching the seething chakra boil away. It was an impossible sight for her to describe, as so very much was for someone who possessed the Hyuuga's legendary eyes; when activated, they saw the world in a fundamentally different way that even their brain found it difficult to comprehend. This was why they trained their bloodline trait, to train their brain in it's own ability to comprehend. Hinata was learning right now, seeing something all new as she stared at the very unexplainable and uncomprehending thing that was the man she was growing to truly love.

She was running towards him, she realized, watching as the strange symbols appeared in her vision, glowing bright blue against the seething mass of red. She was running towards him. Yamato was shouting to her, struggling to keep his hold on Kabuto even as he did.

The tails were lashing about, but she was running towards him, and she couldn't stop. It was the right thing. She did not know why. But it was the right thing.

The tail lashed out at her as she closed in.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

This is mostly a language note. You may have noticed I tend to use uu in place of ū and ou in place of ō in many of the words, though in a few previous chapters I did not. From now on, I will be using the long hand versions in place of the accents, mostly due to their ease of writing and, amusingly, because I used Hyuuga from the start rather than Hyūga. Both of these are correct, mind you and are pronounced the exact same way.

Also, the following technique names are quite crude, based upon my loose understanding of the Japanese language. However, given my research, this is what they should mean, and if anyone can correct me, that would be great. You'll note many of these are my crude attempt at Japanese language puns, one of my favorite parts of the language. This is because the only other named Lava Release technique is a sort of pun as well, and I felt inspired to try my hand at it.

Mizu Bunshin is, of course, Water Clone. The needle technique is Mizu Hari, which is a water-elemental version of the Chakura no Hari, or Chakra Needle, that Hianta uses in one of the filler arcs.

Hakke Seikishou is Eight Trigrams Spirit Palm. It is based upon a game technique and adapted to my own uses. Essentially, it is a swirling pulse of chakra that strikes even before the palm, forcing a wave of debilitating chakra into the enemies body, as opposed to sealing off the system as many other moves based upon the Gentle Fist style of taijutsu do.

Youton: Daiyouhou no Jutsu (Great Directions Technique) could also be translated as Big Lava Gun. The technique is simple, involving gathering up chakra and then expelling it at high speed in the form of a stream of lava. It can also be used to spit small globs of lava instead.

Youton: Youyuuryuudan no Jutsu (Calamity Calling Dragon Missile Technique) could also be translated as Melting Dragon. Similar to other dragon techniques, the Calamity Calling Dragon Missile Technique forms a massive dragon shape out of lava and slams it into the foe.

Youton: Youyou no Jutsu (Lava Calamity Technique) could also be translated as Boundless, Vast, or Overflowing with Water (which I felt was particularly and suitably ironic). It creates a massive sea of lava.

Youton: Youtei no Jutsu (Important Point Technique) could also be translated as Lava Stopping. It basically involves causing the lava in an area to harden suddenly, used for creating landings or barricades, as well as deflect the heat away from his body.

And, of course, Youton is Lava Release.

Doton: Doryuuheki is Earth Release: Earth Style Wall. It's exactly what it says on the tin: a wall formed out of earth.

Suiton: Bakusui Shouha is the move used by Kisame in his doppelganger fight with Team Guy. Means Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave. Essentially, Kisame expells as massive amount of water and rides the wave to crush an opponent.

Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu (Water Shark Missile) is Kisame's form of the Water Dragon Missile, and is more or less the same thing, except in the shape of a shark.


	14. Interlude: A Quiet Mind

**Author Note:** This is a small omake chapter that is, while canon, more to satisfy a few readers who apparently are not happy I've been neglecting Sasuke and Sakura somewhat as we get through the opening sequences of the story. So, here is something so satiate you. Particularly, this chapter is for LightningRose. Hope you enjoy it!

Also, as a note, I have changed the characters from Sasuke and Sakura to Sasuke and Naruto in the summary, mostly to reflect that this is, at it's core, about them. However, as will become readily apparent, the real story is about how their relationships shape them, and how it shapes the greater world as a whole. Still, they are the main characters, and until otherwise stated, I think it fits more to have them.

Keep in mind, depending on things, I may swap it back or switch it to Naruto and Hinata, and honestly that would be to get attention to the fic, if at all. However, this is unlikely, as it is called Pack Light and does refer, at it's base, to an action Sasuke took, and is, at it's core, about him. But it's about Naruto too, and what effect Sasuke's choice had on him as well.

The title of the chapter and much of the purpose of this chapter ties into a song by Blue October, of the same name. You may see this theme in other omakes as well, as I have quite a few other omakes I plan to write that generally provide fluff or WAFF to various degrees, including a much later one involving Naruto and Hinata to the song The Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down, which I can leave it to you to imagine what it's refering to.

And, without further word, on to the chapter!

* * *

He was alone, as he so often chose to be, soft flicker of torch flame casting irregular shadows across the dark room. It was one of the many rooms he'd repurposed into a training dōjō. The scorched training dummies showed heavy abuse from his various technique experiments he'd performed, both under the instruction of his 'teacher,' Orochimaru, and then by applying the same principles he'd learned from the snake on his own. In many ways, this was his gift; he could take the principles of something and make it his own.

Kabuto had once, almost offhandedly, remarked that Sasuke was more imitative the innovative, a fact which had caused the Uchiha to bristle. He had said nothing, choking back the response he knew that the four-eyed sadist was trying to elicit from him. There was no need to dignify his prodding with a response. The words had, however, cut deeper then he expected. And so, without help from anyone, he had gone to work on his own technique, something he would rather perhaps enjoy using on Kabuto some day.

He had trained in solitude, grinding himself down for unknown hours. In these dark halls, time was an artificial construct, and he slept only when his body demanded it. But it had been so long since he had gone off like this that he had almost forgotten what it was like to try and sleep, alone, after the body had been worn down from hours of training.

Sasuke's mind was profoundly disquieted. He was disturbed by all the many problems and concerns that raced through his minds, all the constant plotting and planning he found himself doing. Always remaining one step ahead had become a way of life for him, and he was only subtly realizing that he was tearing his mind apart trying to do it. Orochimaru was overconfident it would seem, far too assured of his own hold over Sasuke and that had given the the youngest Uchiha a small bit of respite from his planning. Sadly, that had only allowed the strain of it all to catch up to him. His thoughts were always so loud, always so filled with plans and schemes.

He hadn't always been this way, he realized. Before, he had barely ever thought this way. No, instead he had brooded over his brother, and the pain he had been put through. He thought about how to get stronger, to which he had taken a very direct approach: train. Training had helped keep his mind clear before, clear of the images that haunted his sleep. It was burned into him, a monochrome nightmarish hell, and he would never bleach it away. But much like any other wound, one pain can help dull another, and training his body into the ground proved an effective method of dulling the pain in his head.

Eventually, he learned to train his mind to run through the same way his body would, to occupy it with thoughts of fights and techniques. He would study his books, even the ones he couldn't actually understand, if just to occupy his brain with something other then the images, something new. And then he'd drive it into the ground, going over it again and again. And when that failed, he simply blanked the past out, replacing it with the raw present. But it was so very hard to keep the pain away, to block out those thoughts some times.

Once, he had a way that was so easier that it had become second nature. When he was a part of a team; Kakashi and the idiot, and an annoying little girl. Friendship, and something... more. Something he'd lost so long ago. He'd gained connections again, more links and reasons to live outside of his brother and the vow he'd made. And, for a time, he had found it as easy as breathing to simply live that way, he found he could forget. He smiled and laughed and joked and _lived. _For awhile he truly felt alive again, and it could have gone on, maybe. But eventually it would end, and when he realized that it was back to that same old pain.

But he couldn't let go of it all. He couldn't toss away everything he'd had, or totally release that profound sense of peace he'd had. With all his strength, Sasuke clung on to a small bit of it. Pack light, he'd told her, seemingly on a whim. She was following him out of love, and he was using her for it, in a way. To feel that peace again, when she was with him. To feel the burning thoughts fly away when he wrapped his arms around her. It was not without good reason that he kept himself from doing that often, treating her like his life-saving drug; he didn't want to build up a resistance, but he already knew he was becoming hopelessly addicted.

There was something in having that unconditional love again, knowing that no matter what you became they would still be there at the end of the day. To have a mother who would be there to hold you when you scraped your knee, regardless of if you broke the vase earlier in the day. Sakura had become that to him, he knew. A link to keep away the thoughts and schemes, and the memories of darker things that haunted the periphery of his mind.

Sasuke had come to know that he was a moody, anti-social, and often temperamental person. Concepts like 'concern for others' and empathy tended to escape him more often then not. That the annoying girl had seen past that or, more likely in Sasuke's mind, simply ignored that meant something very important. He wondered sometimes if he should have left her behind sometimes, although it was never a regret to take her. There was a small joy to be found it once again shaking off the words of his brother.

He moved a hand to his shoulder as the seal began to throb. A fiery pain shot down his arm, as if molten lead was being poured through his veins. He lurched forward suddenly, hand gripping hard against the burning mark. Fight it, he thought, fight it. The Uchiha cursed himself for not spending as much time in managing the seal, not meditating enough to keep it from controlling him or affecting him so much. The mark seemed to have a mind of it's own sometimes, burning and stinging whenever it was most inconvenient for him. Whenever he was alone and exhausted or, worse, when he was attempting to concentrate on something. But at least in the latter situation he could center himself and push it out. Right now, he simply let the pain take him. The feeling of acid in his veins kept away the thoughts, at least.

* * *

The stream of man-sized crystal broke through floor, tearing up the rocky ground. They glowed in the low-light of the torchlit room, burning red as the soft light danced and refracted through the tinted spikes. They impacted the target with a thunderous smash, tearing it to shreds and causing splintered wood and smashed straw to fly.

Sakura smiled as she saw her handiwork, pumping an arm in air with celebratory glee. It had taken awhile, and even Guren-sensei hadn't thought she'd be able to pull it off, but she had shown them, hadn't she? Cha! At first, she could barely make the ruby red spikes appear at all, and then only near her body. But now, each time she used the technique the range was getting longer and the spikes were getting bigger. It was draining, but worth it for the results.

"Uma, saru, hitsuji. i." Sakura said to herself again, hands forming the short seal chain again. Horse to monkey to ram to boar, a simple combination which helped mold and shape her chakra, drawing on the power of her endowed kekkei genkai. She spun and slammed her palms into the ground again, spikes growing even larger this time as they raced towards the dummy. It was over in a second, and yet another pile of debris joined the rest. With a grin and a snap of her finger, the crystals burst into a thousand microscopic shards.

She watched the glittering particles, making sure to direct them away from her with her gift. Each one was a microscopic copy of the same razor-sharp blades she used in some of the other techniques. As she watched them dance in the flickering light, a sudden idea came to her. She brought her hands up, mentally running through the seals used with her gift, drawing upon the principles. She had to be quick, she knew, and for this to work one would need impeccable control. But that always had been her forte, she thought with a grin.

This would take a unique seal, she knew, as some of the other shouton jutsu did. Thinking fast, she put her index and ring fingers up, and folding the middle fingers and pinkies down. She molded it into a inu seal, before modifying that and flowing it into a modified tora. A simple chain, but it should do the trick. She brought one of her hands up, facing the palm away from her, and then with a spike of chakra running through her, closed her hand into a fist.

A few feet away the crystal dust suddenly gathered, slamming togeather into a geometrical shape that looked almost like a children's jack. The burst was instant, and the moment she released the grip the dust released, heavier then before, and fell to the ground like sand.

Sakura was beaming. She'd done it. She had invented a whole new technique. And then she collapsed, panting heavily. She was still grinning as she realized that she had burned too much chakra to be molding experimental seals, but even that was unable to dull her excitement. Sasuke would be so proud of her. Yes, so very proud.

She pushed herself up, dragging herself over to the wall, and slept. She dreamed of Sasuke, as was so often the case.

* * *

Sasuke sat in a small chair in the corner of their quarters, watching the annoying girl sleep. He found himself doing that some times. It was a suitable replacement for dreaming, he felt, particularly when his dreams were never of anything as beautiful as her. He could admit her beauty now, quite easily. She had proven that many times over, and it would seem that her foolishness had led to something quite fitting. Her new gift was strangely fitting for her, he thought. Deceptively fragile, but with a razor sharp edge.

She was honing herself for him, he knew. Training harder then she ever had in her life. She always had that potential to be great, to be something special, even if he didn't want to see it at first. But she was even greater then him in some ways, or had been before. Her control still could make him surprised sometimes. When she wasn't training with him, she was training on her own it seemed. One might have asked what else could she do, but it was always with an eager spirit that she did, or at the very least it was without complaint. It was him who caused them to take breaks far more then she did, a strange feeling.

He was worried about her. When he'd found her she was sleeping with a smile, but very near a deadly level of chakra exhaustion. Sasuke was no medical-nin, but he knew the body. He'd studied it extensively for the combat applications of it. Gently, he'd picked her up and carried her back to their shared room, setting her into bed and taking a seat to watch. He wasn't tired anymore, despite the training, and he'd almost totally forgotten about the throbbing pain he felt in his shoulder.

Nothing came to mind when he watched her, no more plans or schemes. Simply concern, a small bit of anger, and a hidden amount of pride. She was smiling when he had found her, which told him she had done something amazing. Sakura was not easy on herself, never was. For her to be happy, even as she was falling into unconsciousness? That meant something. He realized he trusted her in a very unique way; he hadn't trusted anyone that much since...

He let the thought slip away, not even bothering to think of how easy it was to do when he looked at her. His frown turned into a small smile. She gave him a quiet mind.

And he loved her.


	15. Part 1, Chapter 13: The Power of Will

Yamato crouched slightly over a dumped bag. He frowned as his eyes worked through the loose brushes and split ink containers. The former ANBU operative had been concerned this might happen, and while he'd taken precautions it was still hardly a situation he was happy to deal with. By all appearances, Sai had approached Orochimaru of his own free will, and then willingly gone with him. It was, perhaps, a coerced choice but the fact remained that he had gone, and there were no scenarios in which that boded well for Yamato or the rest of Team Kakashi.

He looked back to find Naruto frowning heavily. It was no wonder, either. He looked stiff but was, fairly surprisingly, not in too bad of shape. Hinata had managed yet another fairly amazing thing, it seemed. One right after the other, too. She was full of surprises, perhaps even more then she realized herself. Given her surprise at the actions that seemed likely.

Regardless, Naruto was alive and fine, and also back in his own right mind. Abet with an utter lack of knowledge when it to what had happened. Apparently he could vaguely remember sending Orochimaru flying, and then the bare beginnings of a fight with him. And then there was simply an inky blackness in his mind, a hole in his thoughts. He had seemed surprised when he finally came to, laying on his back with a tearful Hinata quick to grab onto him and a vast swath of destruction carved through the land. Oh, and a destroyed bridge, but he actually vaguely remembered that part.

Acting quickly, their temporary team captain had mobilized them before he could think too much on what had happened, not entirely sure if he wanted to bog down the boy with that right now, not when they had a chase on their hand, and such a lead on Sasuke Uchiha. It hadn't been hard to get him moving with that motivation, but the crater they had come upon was more then Yamato had expected from what his scout had said. Worse, Sai's dumped belongings painted a very dangerous picture.

Or so they thought.

It was Hinata who discovered it, picking up the picture book that Sai had shared with them earlier. She had been staring off, byakugan searching for traces of Orochimaru and his cohort, but had been drawn to a faint chakra signature she saw in the book. Hidden away in the back of it was a small message.

Follow, it said. And then, as if detecting it had been read, the ink flowed off the page and into the form of a small bird. Yamato watched with a grin as Naruto almost lit up. After so many betrayals it seemed that this was a welcome reprieve. Unnecessary, of course, given he'd planted a tracking seed on the pale boy, but this sign made it very clear that the newest member of Team Kakashi was still on their side.

Yamato's hand moved to his headpiece, and he nodded slightly as the forward scout reported in. He was trailing them, from a distance. With a single order, the three remaining members of Team Kakashi took to the trees. They had to be fast if they wanted to catch up.

* * *

Although Naruto had been overjoyed to realize that Sai hadn't been a traitor, that had only been a temporary reprieve from his feelings of both concern and confusion. He'd blacked out, and came both incredibly stiff and to find the bridge destroyed and with neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto in sight. And, perhaps even more concerning, Sai had been missing. There hadn't been time to ask any questions, with Yamato simply inquiring into his status and then quickly leaping off to find Sai.

The discovery of Sai's things had deflected his attention away from the massive destruction around him; the crater was easily at least a third the size of Konoha, and the trees on the rim had seen far better days. The first few rows even outside the crater were flattened, and beyond there the ones still standing were stripped of bark and foliage. Even beyond that there was a fast depletion of leaves and needles amongst the other trees. It was awe-inspiring in it's terribleness. But something seemed familiar about it to the blond genin, and that made him more then a small bit scared.

He felt he should know what had happened there, or rather that he _did_ know and could not dredge up the memories. Some part of him had wanted to forget it and was doing a damned good job of making sure he did not remember. Naruto rubbed his shoulder, feeling strangely raw and clean while also A small bit painfully stiff. He must have had some fight, and gotten hit fairly hard to to remember it. He remembered, vaguely, the first fight with Orochimaru and the pain he'd been after that.

Of course, that line of thinking was not particularly enjoyable. He hated that thinking back to the times before was now so painful. The memories he once cherished, regardless of situation, cut him deeply.

Naruto stumbled slightly as he landed on a branch wrong, causing him to snap out of the reverie. Hinata looked back at him and worried look on her face only made things worse; he was not supposed to be making her worried too. Although it warmed him to know she did it also made him angry at himself for causing it in her. Hinata was so much prettier when she smiled.

Unknown to him, it was lucky that he was so disconcerted about things, or else he might have had to actually grasp what it is he just thought. Indeed, perhaps it was for the best that his life had been so hectic since he returned that the very peculiar thoughts and feelings he'd been having for the pale-eyed Hyuuga girl. It was good he didn't need to think about how his eyes were drawn to her more and more. It was better for his mind to worry about the mission, lucky in many ways. Of course, luck always runs out at the worst possible times.

But not quite yet.

Naruto vaulted off the next few trees just perfectly, causing Hinata's visible concern to fade. Visible because, deep down, she was but filled with concern for her long time crush. It was not as though she had a shortage of things to worry about either. She worried about how this mission was affecting him, and how the demon sealed within him was affecting. She worried about his trip. So excited when he returned, she barely could say a word at all. It was even worse when he handed her the flowers. Of course, she hadn't much time to enjoy it when the word came in and they were off to Sunagakure no Sato to rescue an old friend.

Gaara's safe recovery had been a high point for Naruto, to say the least. It had lifted his spirits, and also revealed something about him that Hinata had never expected. At first, she had to admit some trepidation about the Kyuubi, but that had faded strangely quickly. Strangely, it had taken seeing him draw on that power to do it, and knowing why. It had been her, she realized.

As they watched a new generation of Sand-nin cheer for their Kazekage's safe return, there had been a moment when she saw Naruto in a very strange way. The combination of respect and longing as he watched them crowd around and heap praise on him. Hinata couldn't help but wonder where Naruto would have been had he not made his vow. Would he be close on Gaara's heels? What about her? It was strange to think that two people she hardly knew had so guided nearly three years of her life. Her promise to Naruto had made her stronger, she knew. And closer. Where would she be without it?

It was such a strange thing, something she could not place. To be happy about Naruto's misfortune and pain was completely out of the question, but she could not help but acknowledge that without it she might never have been standing next to him, even just as the friend she was. And they were friends. Closer than she'd been to almost anyone before. She had missed him each and every day, and was so proud when he saw the respect in his eyes. Some day she would manage up the strength to tell him so. She'd tell him that she had gotten strong for him, because of her promise to him.

But, in the back of her mind, she got the feeling he already knew.

Hinata was brought back to the present rather suddenly as Yamato called a rest. She realized that she had lost her focus and scolded herself for it. Naruto landed roughly again, apparently rubbing his shoulder again.

"What the heck hit me to make me so stiff?" he asked to no one in particular, though he'd turned to Captain Yamato first. The jounin looked at him for a moment, as if pondering what to say. Naruto simply frowned.

"What?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him, "What I miss?"

Yamato was just about to open his mouth when Hinata began to speak.

* * *

_Not long before..._

Naruto's four tails of seething red lashed wildly about as the jinchuuriki pushed himself up and out of impact crater from his rough landing. His eyes were drawn suddenly to his side as he watched a person that a part of his mind told him he cared deeply for rush at him, eyes and hands aglow with silver light. It trailed behind her, outlining her with brilliant energy. His human mind wrestled with the feral part of him, fighting back the instinct to lash out. But the chakra was not entirely his, and it's nature was not his either. Even as he fought, one of the lashing tails came down, straight into the path of the angel girl who was racing right towards him.

She vaulted over the tail with preternatural grace, and the world seemed to move in slow motion. It was instinctual as she moved and flowed. She saw the next tail before it even moved and adjusted accordingly. It swung overhead as she moved, and she was close enough to strike. It was within the range of her divination and, hands awash with power, she acted upon it. Spiraling trigram signs became her world as she moved, and her hands struck out with pinpoint accuracy. Eight strikes, that is what it would take. Blue-white chakra shot into the first point as her fingers neared the target but never actually made contact. There was no need for contact.

The chakra shot through Naruto's shield, tiny streams of white lacing his body as her hand moved for a second strike. The feral part of his mind fought back, bringing a clawed hand around to swipe at this interloper. It swept over her head as she bent over, displaying amazing flexibility as her fingers shot out and struck the second and third points in rapid succession. The seething flow of chakra faltered, bubbling wildly as it began to loose cohesion. The jinchuuriki roared as a fourth and fifth spike lanced through it's shield, further destabilizing the shroud of chakra. The foul influence on Naruto's mind began to rapidly recede as the chakra flow reversed, becoming a whirlpool on the boy's naval.

Yamato watched in wide-eyed wonder, transfixed by the sight. The hokage had mentioned something about Hinata redirecting an overflow of chakra in Naruto's body before, but she had not been this explicit about exactly what that entailed. Indeed, she was rather brief in general, instead focusing on informing him of his part in this all. He had been intended to suppress the demonic chakra, should that need arise. He had been in fear for her life when Hinata raced at Naruto, only to to see her do this...

Six and seven. Naruto's face broke through the shroud as it receded, face a mask of bloody red. The chakra crystal of the First Hokage's necklace glowed bright as it was revealed, chakra flowing down his body. It became apparent that the foul chakra was corrosive to biological material as his clothes came into view, strangely no worse for the wear despite their time under the seething shroud.

Yamato found himself rather suddenly flying back. Kabuto had kicked him in the mid-section, apparently managing enough room to form a chakra scalpel to slice through his wooden bonds in the brief moment that the jounin had let his attention lapse. He had little time to curse his carelessness, though, as Kabuto launched himself across the gorge, his own eyes transfixed upon the strange sight of one Hinata Hyuuga glowing with strange silver light, delivering blows that were barely visible, and the streams of white that lanced across Naruto's body.

She finished it with the eighth and final strike, having taken a scant few seconds to deliver them all. The seal on the jinchuuriki's stomach glowed red for a moment, sizzling before it began to disappear. Naruto let out a pathetic gurgle, before collapsing. Emotion returned to Hinata's face, as she suddenly realized what had happened and once again she moved without thinking, abet for far different reasons. Her hands glowed green this time as she rapidly began to move. Tears budded in her eyes as she looked at Naruto, skin boiled away. He should have been healing. She'd seen him heal before, faster than she thought possible.

Had she stopped it somehow? Had she done this to him? Frantic, she pushed herself to work faster. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when she saw his skin began to patch and bud, a combination of his natural healing slowly returning and her own ministrations finally showing progress.

He was going to be just fine, she told herself. He was going to be just fine. She knew it.

She simply knew.

* * *

_Back during the pursuit..._

Not a word had been said for some time as the Konoha trio pushed deeper into unknown territory. Hinata's recounting had given quite a few details that Yamato would have been unable to, had he decided to tell Naruto at all. Indeed, this sudden silence and Naruto's obvious troubled spirits was the primary reason that the jounin has not said anything. He could spare little time worrying about it, he knew, and simply pushed his team farther on, receiving word from his forward scout every once in a while. But nothing was said.

Hinata was ostensibly making sweeps with her byakugan at regular intevals, but relayed no information to the the team captain or her teammate. How much of that was because Yamato knew her focus was torn between watching Naruto without watching or the lack of anything to report was unknown to him, which is why he was particularly happy for his own secondary reconnaissance; Hinata was a fine kunoichi, but her concern for her teammate was, while admirable, also getting in the way of the mission. Or maybe it wasn't, given there truly wasn't much to report. It was very hard to say one way of the other.

Naruto, on the other hand, was far more obviously affected. The news had struck him harder then even Yamato had expected, though the jinchuuriki was keeping up just fine. His silence was somewhat unnerving, as Naruto had not been at all what Yamato would have described as quiet in the short time he'd known him. What was more, given they were still on the trail of Orochimaru and his cohort it was hardly as though the mission was an overt failure. Still, he was going to have to say something. He opened his mouth to speak.

Only to watch as a suddenly grinning and cheerful Naruto shot past him.

"Alright! Come on, time is wasting. We're gonna catch up to these bastards, and bring Sasuke and Sakura back! Believe it!" he shouted. Both Captain Yamato and Hinata stared for a moment, taken aback by the sudden reversal.

And in strange moment of awareness, Naruto looked back and smiled at them, "What? This is no time for me to be moping about things that can't be changed. I'll focus on what I can do, not what happened!"

He waited a moment before giving a thumbs up and grinning, "Believe it!"

A sudden explosion some distance in front of the group brought his excitement to screeching halt. Yamato's hand flew to his headset, voice a near shout.

"Report!"

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the hidden prison facility outside of Konoha..._

Otter crouched down in the courtyard, nose twitching rapidly as he sniffed around. The tokubetsu jounin had enhanced his sense of smell many times over through various chakra enhancing exercises, as well as constantly pumping chakra through the appendage in question. His years of training with another shinobi known for his amazing sense of smell and with his family had amplified that sense to levels remarkable even to the rest of the Inuzuka clan. He could pinpoint a familiar smell over many kilometers, tracking it down with unerring accuracy. And, when that failed, his allies amongst the nin-dogs could take it even a step farther.

The ANBU operative scowled as the scent raced through his nose and he shook at just how foul it was, hidden behind such a genjutsu that meant that not a single one of his fellow operatives could smell it. But to a nose such as his, enhanced with chakra and operating at a far higher level than that of a normal human, it was as plain as day; a foreign smell of decay and death, not from any of the guard's bodies either. This scent was moving around, fighting even. It made no sense that such a level of decomposition would be doing that, and Otter's mind was at a lost of how or why such a scent existed.

It wasn't alone, either. A second scent, one that made Otter shiver to even think about. He wasn't sure why, either, other than the fact that the smell was totally unlike anything he'd ever smelled in his entire life. Not truly foul, but just fundamentally alien to any normal smell that it made him antsy just to think about. Whatever these two were it certainly wasn't normal. Hell, it might not even be human, and that thought chilled Otter-san to the bone.

He made two hand signals to his teammates, who made no return expression, and then bounded off with them in tow. He had the scents, though he didn't want to dwell on them in any way. Suddenly he wished to simply be done with this assignment while his sense of smell, and sanity, was intact.

* * *

_Elsewhere, in the Land of Earth..._

The twisting elemental missiles slammed into each other at high speeds, steam sputtering off them as they wrestled and twisted against each other. Both of the powerful shinobi held their hands tight, molding and guiding the chakra and attempting to keep the coherency of the techniques even as they rapidly began to destabilize; the thrashing shark was rapidly disappearing into steam while the lava dragon was hardening into razor-sharp obsidian. Both combatants were pumping in vast majorities of their chakra, each assured that they had the larger capacity.

And then abruptly, they both ceased. Nearly simultaneously the pair released their hands. The dragon collapsed into lava rock, shattering into pieces as it impacted the water and lava. Droplets of the latter swirled around Roushi, but never struck him, as if guided away by an unknown force. The water shark became a cloud of stinging steam, but quickly rose away and evaporated, leaving both fighters unharmed and, externally, no worse for the wear. They simply grinned at each other.

"You are quite good." Roushi said, bowing slightly as he did. Kisame returned the short nod with one of his own, array of pearly whites glinting slightly as he did.

"Thank you." he replied, "You're far more polite then my last fight."

Roushi raised an eyebrow at him for a moment and let out a soft snort, "Alright then. Well, in spite of that, I'm afraid I'll have to call our little dance to a close."

"Is that a fact? A shame, I was having so much fun."

"Ah, but all good things must come to an end." the red-haired man replied, bringing his right hand up slightly in front of him, fingers flexing in and out. He had been training for this. Time to see what all that had been for. Not that he really enjoyed it; it stung like hell.

"Too true." Kisame said almost mockingly, hefting his blade onto his shoulder as beads of orange-red, like droplets of magma, began to form on his opponent's arms. The beads bubbles and hisses, slowly growing in size as more began to pop up across the man's body. They spread quickly, starting on his arms and legs and slowly beading up across his entire body, bubbling and thickening into a barely transparent shield. The red-mustached man began to hunch over as it finished cocooning him, streams of the lava-esque chakra flowing back away from him and forming into a set of four twisting and wild monkey-tails.

A bubbling mustache of lava formed across the jinchuuriki's face, and he hunched over, savage grin on his face. He had managed to gain control of his first form, though his skin felt like it was being pricked with thousands of pins and needles. The elder shinobi hoped dearly that he would be able to finish it with this. He had to, there was no other choice. He stepped out on to the lava, off from his platform, and balanced on the top of the shifting magma flow, no worse for the wear. Letting the damn monkey out of his cage had some benefits, after all.

"I thought you said the fun was coming to an end." Kisame said with that sharky grin, and an almost deadpan tone.

"You lied. This seems to just get better and better."

* * *

_Meanwhile, in a hidden location on the Earth, Grass, and Waterfall borders..._

Sakura woke up slowly, a soft ruffling bringing her around from a fairly deep and enjoyable slumber. The crystal-nin hadn't realized how much of her chakra she had used until it was too late, and yet as she slipped into unconsciousness it had been with a smile on her face. She would make Sasuke proud with this new move, she was sure. It made her stronger, and that was what she truly wanted. To be strong enough that he could stop using that ugly mark that Orochimaru had given him. She knew he was training it; he never trained it while she was around and never let her come get him when he did. She had found him a few times, hunched over in pain, but he had been coldly angry at her for being there.

The young woman had never liked the cursed seal, not since that first time Sasuke had awoken wreathed in purple flames and proceeded to brutally and systematically attempt to cripple the opponents. The sheer savagery of it, and the enjoyable grin he was doing with brought tears to her eyes. She had latched onto him, pleading for him to stop.

And he had.

Of course, she later saw him become even more terrifying as he came to use that seal, although he was far more reluctant to make use of it she had to admit. He was even in control if it now, most of the time. But she still hated it; she hated the way it made him look so inhuman. It haunted her nightmares; that, and watching another old friend turn into something monstrous.

Her eyes snapped open suddenly. As she pushed herself up she realized that this was not the training room at all. That thought brought a smile to her face; Sasuke was the only other one in the base right now. Despite how cold he could sometimes be, it was little things like this that made her love him even more than she had before. He was not a verbal person, but he showed he cared, at least. Of course, her smile turned to a slight blush when she realized she was also dressed in bed clothes, as opposed to the loose training wear she had the night before.

Sasuke said nothing as she sat up. The Uchiha was donning the heavier outer garment of his outfit, uncomfortable to sleep in due to the metal plates sewn into the material. He had taken on wearing the slightly more armored outfit on her suggestion, and then found it quite useful in their joint training sessions. He blocked more often, and had even begun using the plates to channel the power of his chidori, reinforcing their strength. But, as stated, it was hardly comfortable to wear to bed, and he usually discarded it each night.

Sakura yawned and stretched, knowing that he was unlikely to pay much attention to her at all. The standard emotionless mask, Sakura knew, and she'd long gotten used to it. Not that she enjoyed it, or didn't get at least a twinge of pain when she saw it, but she at least learned to cope. She realized that he had spent the night in a chair, which wasn't too unusual. He often did that, staying up far longer then she did as a rule.

Occasionally he would share the bed with her, and if she was really lucky he would even pull her into his arms as he slept. After he'd done it a few times and then abruptly stopped Sakura had thought he was mad. Eventually, she simply realized that trying to understand his mercurial moods was a losing prospect. She still tried, of course, but with little success or expectation of it. Sometimes she got lucky. She wondered if he was mad that she had exhausted herself, or if simply it had triggered some unknown line of thought that had kept him up. Or, perhaps, he simply had no desire to sleep. She knew he had nightmares, having had him wake up in a cold sweat more then a few times. She didn't know what to do at first, but quickly latched onto him and simply held him close, soothing him and telling him it would be alright.

They never spoke of it. But he acted differently around her after that. Subtle things. She had done it solely because she cared, of course, and it seemed he was well aware of that fact. He seemed less angry sometimes, and he'd even smile.

Sakura loved it when he smiled.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and was greeted with a sudden surprise. Sasuke was looking at her, even has he moved to strap on his heavier shoes.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." he said, with just a hint of playful sarcasm. She remembered that tone, back from before, when they were a team. Back when Sasuke was just beginning to open up. She hadn't expected to ever hear that again. He was smiling softly at her in a way that made her face flush, "Was wondering when you'd wake up."

Sasuke stood up and retrieved his weapon, sliding it into his belt with a quick and practiced movement.

"Orochimaru is returning. I have a few things I need to speak with him about. Get ready, you're coming with me. We'll train later tonight." he continued. It was soft, but direct; there was not a question, simply a statement. He waited a moment, simply staring into her surprised eyes, before continuing further.

"From now on, take it easy. I don't want to have to carry you back here. I don't want to lose you to hubris."

She simply nodded as stood up and exited the room, staring at the door in stunned silence for a few short moments before racing to get dressed and ready.

* * *

**Author Note: **Someone pointed out that earlier I said this was going to be Sakura/Sasuke focused, and later said it wouldn't. More or less, they are exactly right. The story has shifted and changed in my head. It IS still about them, to an extreme degree, but I've shifted the emphasis slightly to be almost as much about Naruto and Hinata, though I can promise that after the next few chapters we'll have a few chapters with a great focus on them as they gather up the team and head out to find Itachi. Keep in mind that I don't intent Naruto and Hinata to overtake Sasuke and Sakura in importance, and that they will remain the name characters, for now.

That being said, with any luck, Part 1 should be done by Chapter 15. Likely an Omake or two will follow that, before Part 2 begins. Also, if you like this story, check out my other one, Naruto Sensei. A much more ambitious project, I think, and keep an eye out for The Brothers Uzumaki.

Also! I'm going to try a sort of schedule for this, one chapter each week, alternating between Pack Light and Naruto-Sensei, at least for now. When Brother's Uzumaki comes along it might swap with Naruto Sensei off and on, but Pack Light will, for now, remain my primary fic.

Finally, for anyone who is curious, I'm referring to this outfit, from an upcoming game, as to what Sasuke is wearing. I rather like many of the designs for the game and plan to use them at various times in the story.

http:// www . takaratomy . co . jp /products /gamesoft/catalog/wii-10-naruto/charactor/hebi_1 . html


	16. Interlude: Get Through This

They were sitting in the near darkness of the entrance, resting on a small fountain near the center of the room. The water listed softly, but Sasuke sat perfectly still and in perfect silence. It wasn't hard, or even worth any effort at all, really. He was, after all, a shinobi; masters of stealth and the silent kill. Well, some of the time any way. That was an amusing thought actually. How many ninja had abandoned the original concept of a ninja for flashy shock techniques. Then again, such shock and awe tactics were hardly ineffective and it wasn't as thought Sasuke wasn't quite proficient at them as well. But many ninja had shunned stealth and finesse all together.

That was one of the reasons Orochimaru was an acceptable sensei, even as much as Sasuke loathed to call him such. However, there was no denying his skill in any field of the shinobi arts. The sannin took stealth and secrecy very seriously, as the attack on Konoha had demonstrated, but he also had the flash and skill to fight in direct combat. He was also an egotistical sadistic sociopath, but Sasuke was able to look past that for the sake of his goals. Orochimaru was almost pathetically easy to manipulate too. The man, if he could still be called such a thing, was so used to praise and near religious fawning from his subordinates that the concept of Sasuke blatantly lying to him seemed to escape him.

It made things much easier for the Uchiha, though, and gave him a good example of what not to do. For such a dark and secretive man, Orochimaru gave trust far to easily. Sasuke would not be so foolish. There was one person who had his trust, and that was because it had been proven to him in the most extreme of ways. But, as said, it was one more thing he learned from the sannin; the list of things left to teach was becoming quiet short now.

Sasuke heard his partner cough slightly. That was uncommon; Sakura had becoming highly adept at stealth, a necessity that he had drilled into her. Even small moments like this were exercises in it. That she slipped up was surprising to him, because she had done quite well for herself. But, then again, he had to admit that it was likely his fault, given how he woke her. It had come rather naturally, the old snark and pomp. It was an old set of clothes, well worn and comfortable to slip into. A remnant of a life he'd left behind. Or had intended to, at least. Sakura had complicated that.

She seemed to notice her slip up and shrink back into herself. She sat a few feet away from him, quickly becoming lost in her own thoughts once more. Sasuke had shunted so much out of his mind after his unexpected mental admission the previous night. There was no time to consider what it meant, or how it would affect things. To ponder it would be to let it have that greater affect, and distract him. There was no time for that, not when he was nearing the limits of what he could learn from the snake. And then he would discard him, just like he'd discarded Konoha. Orochimaru's usefulness would be spent.

Sasuke would have to kill him too. His obsession with the sharingan was insulting. The Uchiha realized with some degree of disgust that, given how fast Orochimaru's body was degrading, it likely wouldn't even be a decent fight. Not that Sasuke cared much, of course. Combat was a means to an end, not something he indulged for the sake of base gratification. No, he had something else to satisfy that, should he need it. He caught himself grinning, and moved quickly to stifle the various thoughts about a certain pink-haired kunochi that ran through his mind. Sasuke was surprised. Where had that come from?

"You seem distracted, Sasuke-kun." a sickly smooth voice said, causing Sasuke to scowl even more. He'd let his guard down like a fool.

"Hard to stay focused when my supposed teacher goes off when he's supposed to be training me." he replied quickly, pleased with the snappy comeback. Kabuto seemed displeased, and Sasuke noticed that he was muttering something about disrespect under his breath. And then Sasuke noticed the third member of the small group, a strange and extremely pale boy with what appeared to be a short dagger stored across his back.

"Another young boy? Orochimaru, your weird tastes are your own, but indulge them on your own time, wouldn't you?" he said, words dripping with snark. Sakura giggled slightly, wondering where the old Sasuke had come from again. Sasuke didn't realize that her reaction was making him smile even more.

Orochimaru did, and while he was smiling that same disgusting smile on the outside, inside he was seething. The boy, however, seemed to have ignored the unsavory implications Sasuke made and was smiling far to nicely to be believed.

"I'm Sai. You must be Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto has told me quite a lot about you." the pale boy said. Sasuke noted a sharp intake of breath from his pink-haired partner as that certain knucklehead was mentioned. "But, I've a feeling I'd get along better with yo-"

He was cut off very suddenly, beads of sweat forming on his brow. His eyes shot open, fake smile momentarily fading into an expression as close to approaching abject horror as Sai's indoctrinated mind could muster. He took a single step back as his heart began to pound in his chest. It as alien to him, this extreme terror. He wanted to run, and it took all the willpower he could muster to prevent it.

"Sakura." Sasuke hissed, looking back very so slightly. The pink-haired woman was glaring at Sai with more killing intent than Sasuke had ever felt from her. It washed over him as well, though he could only imagine what the person it was targeting must have felt. It was abnormal, simply and clearly wrong for her to have that much hate.

His words seemed to cut through her haze, and the killing pressure let up in an instant. She shrunk back, stammering something of an apology.

"Enough." Sasuke snapped again, causing her to grow silent. She looked down to the ground. Sasuke simply turned back to Orochimaru, frown evident on his face. "Come, we need to finish perfecting my jutsu. I haven't got time to play around here."

And then he began to walk off. Sakura remained for a brief moment, glancing up at Sai once before falling into step behind the man she'd given up everything for. An alien feeling swept over her, unwanted and unappreciated; there was nothing for her to regret, she told herself. Nothing at all.

"Well, I think Kabuto can find you some place to say, than." Orochimaru said, slowly slithering off after his future host, chuckling in his sick way as he did. "This was entertaining, we'll have to do it again some time, perhaps."

And without anything more he disappeared into the murky darkness.

* * *

**Author Note:** Forgive me for the delay. You know how it is with life. Things come up. In my case, these things were my MEPS physical for joining the military followed closely by Mass Effect 2. Also, the fact that I really wasn't looking forward to writing the next chapter. Not that anything in it I don't really like, but simply didn't grab me, event wise, like other things do. But as soon as I get through it we can begin the Hebi arc. So that will be fun.

So yeah. I promise a full chapter soon, though.


	17. Part 1, Chapter 14: Reunion

He was running again, faster than he had ever run in his entire life. That light at the end of the tunnel pulled him stronger with each passing moment. Naruto knew they were there in that light. He knew he would find them there. He did not know how he knew, nor did it matter. All he knew was that he had to get there. And that meant he had to run faster, and then faster still. So he did. He ignored the acidic burn in his legs as he pushed them. It was a distraction he could not afford. No, he had to get there. He had to find them. He had to run.

Naruto had been frantically searching the rooms, trying to find his long lost precious people before Sai could. The newest member of Team Kakashi confused him so. He had told Naruto that he wanted to preserve the blond boy's bonds, just as he had struggled to preserve the bond with his own brother. Had it been a lie? The story of a brother who nearly died, and nearly plunged Sai into an emotionless abyss? Another layer to his cover, protecting his true mission? Had it all been a lie so he could get close to Sasuke and Sakura, and to kill them?

They'd found his bingo book, discarded no far from where Naruto had collapsed. He was still cursing himself for letting that happen. But between his earlier fight with Orochimaru, and the toll the nine-tails chakra had taken on his body, to their frantic chase after the blasted snake and his four-eyed flunky. That trap they'd laid had caused the team to push themselves even harder, but Naruto had been able to hide just how worn out he had been. Or, at least, so he thought.

However, when they reached Orochimaru's hidden facility and found Sai, Naruto hadn't been quite as prepared to face down Kabuto when he showed up. If not for Sai's intervention, Naruto wasn't sure they'd have even won that fight; Hinata showed signs of exhaustion as well, a fact Naruto also blamed himself for. She had, after all, spent quite a lot of chakra healing him, and apparently in shunting out the nine-tails chakra as well. And then, as they split up to search for Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto's body had finally rebelled against him.

When he awoke, Sai was gone. They'd found that book, and the truth about the pale boy had become more apparent. Or had it? Naruto didn't know, but he did know he had to find his old teammates before Sai did. They had search room after room, slamming door after door. And then that explosion had happened. He feared the worst after that, but as he raced towards the source of that blast he couldn't help but shake the feeling that this was it. He would find them there.

He had to find them there.

And so he was running towards that light. It burnt his eyes, but he did not stop or slow. He charged through the swirling dust that remained from the blast, causing wisps of it to curl up in the bright sunlight. He could see Sai there, standing at the center of what had apparently been a decent chunk of the facility. It was impossible to tell what sort of place the room was used for now.

Naruto realized that Sai was staring up at something. But his feet were moving faster than his brain. They carried him into the center of the room. He came to a skidding halt right before hitting Sai. Naruto hadn't even enough time to say a single thing before a voice from the past spoke to him.

"Naruto." it said, soft and trailing. He turned, then, to see what it was that his new teammate had been stairing at, but part of him already knew. After all, he knew that voice. He would remember it anywhere.

Naruto did not notice as Hinata came rushing in behind him, nor her saying his name as she did. He did not notice as she turned to look at what he and Sai were staring at, nor did he notice her shock when she saw them. He noticed none of this because he was focused on them instead.

He was taller, now. The first thing that game to his mind. The hair and the face, they were the same in so many ways and yet different as well. It was an older face, harsher too. There was only the barest hints of emotion in his eyes, a subtle sense of subdued disapproval. Naruto had seen that expression many times before. One of Sasuke's hands rested on the hilt of a sword that was tucked into his rope belt. He wore a loose white robe, along with a set of deep navy pants and undershirt. He wore armored boots and gauntlets to match the light plating on other sections of his outfit. But what surprised Naruto the most was a certain Konoha hitae-ite with a scratch carved through the middle that hung from Sasuke's neck.

But Sasuke hadn't said anything at all. No, it had been Her.

Sakura was taller too. And beautiful. He'd always thought she had been beautiful, and time hadn't changed that at all. Her hair was long, hanging down past her waist. She wore the same soft cherry red he remembered, but the color was the only remnant of that old outfit. She wore a sort of high-collared sleeveless coat or blouse now, with white fur around the collar and a sash around her waist that reminded Naruto uncomfortably of the one worn by Orochimaru's right hand man. It flowed down into a knee-length side-slit skirt, with a white miniskirt under that. But what stood out from her outfit the most was what she lacked; she had no hitae-ite or marker of any sort.

While Sasuke's expression spoke of almost disinterest, Sakura's was not so reserved. Naruto recognized that expression, because he'd seen it many times and made it himself as well; it was an expression of pain. A deep wound that no technique nor medicine could heal. A wound to the heart, and the pain of the soul.

"Sasuke. Sakura" Naruto said softly, slowly mulling over each syllable. He had been about to say something more when the other voice from his past interrupted him. The voice of the man he considered a brother.

"You shouldn't have come, Naruto." Sasuke said with an tone of finality and conviction. It was said with such a degree of authority that, for the briefest of moments, Naruto believed it too. But that thought was replaced with a storm of other emotions. The Konoha shinobi couldn't even begin to scratch the surface of what he was feeling. He looked down for the briefest of moments, overwhelmed.

It was Hinata's voice that brought him back. She said his name again, and this time it registered somewhere in his mind. His eyes snapped open and turned back up to look a his old teammates, budding tears forming as he did. Sasuke had seemed momentarily amused by this, as though he saw something far more than had been displayed.

"Why, then?" he asked. His fists began to clench, but his voice never managed to escape it's weak and low tremble.

"Why did you leave me alive, than? You knew I'd come."

Sasuke said nothing for a long moment. His expression was unchanging, even when he finally spoke. It was not the answer Naruto expected in the least.

"Because she asked me to." he said. Naruto's face twisted into an unknown emotion, as if his mind was unable to choose between sorrow and rage. Was that it? She had asked Sasuke not to kill him? What he hell did that mean?

Hinata's byakugan activated on a reflex, but even with it she was only able to catch the tail end of Sasuke's sudden movement. It was fast. Faster than she'd ever seen before. Faster than she thought was possible. Neither Neji-niisan, or Kurenai-sensei, or even her father. He seemed to almost disappear, and then was suddenly standing right next to Naruto, right next to him in fact, with one hand still resting on the hilt of his sword. She took a step back in reflexive shock before scolding herself. Sasuke spoke before she could say a word.

"Your dream of becoming hokage. I let you keep that, didn't I? That is still your dream, isn't it?" Sasuke said, tone of subtle humor seeping through the words. What caught Naruto was that it was not a mocking tone. Sasuke was not disbelieving, even if he was laughing in his own way. He simply stood in place, barely inches apart from Sasuke, eyes fixed forward.

"Shouldn't you be training, than, instead of chasing us?"

"How can someone be hokage if they can't save their own friends?" he said, face now holding an alien blankness. It was not normal for a face as emotive as his to be so blank and that did not escape the notice of both Hinata and Sakura. Finally, Naruto looked up at Sakura, locking his eyes with hers.

"What do you think, Sakura? Can someone like that really be hokage?" he asked, causing her to flinch. The response was quick, but not from her. The slow grind of steel echoed through the ruins.

"Well, in that case." Sasuke said with a bit more bite, "Perhaps I should put your out of your misery, than."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, just as the blade nearly left it's scabbard. Sasuke's eyes flicked back for just a moment. And then Sasuke was gone, back to standing next to the long-haired kunochi he'd stolen away from Konoha when he left. She said something, almost too low for him to hear, but his brain pieced it together easy enough; she had told him thank you. Naruto felt some anger begin to bubble to the surface, feral thoughts trying to claw their way to the surface. Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder, and a wave of soothing seemed to fly through him. No, he wouldn't let that take over again.

"I'm sorry." he heard from Sakura, causing his face to harden for a moment. She was sorry?

So was he.

And then they were gone, disappearing in an instant. Naruto fell to his knees, arms hanging loosely at his sides. He barely noticed as captain Yamato entered the ruined room, so lost was he inside his own head. They'd left him again. And, once again, he'd been unable to do a damn thing to stop it.

* * *

_A short time later, in a hidden location..._

Had there been anyone to notice, it would have been readily apparent that Sasuke Uchiha was in a particularly foul mood. Never the most cheerful of souls in the best of days, his current state was actually palpable in the air, radiating waves of killing intent bleeding off him. It was directed at no one person in particular, just an uncontrolled seething in the air. Of course, the abnormality came from the fact that Sasuke had become rather controlled about his emotional state; he was known for his restraint, and this comparatively long-term lapse in control meant one of two things; either he was consciously not even bothering to contain himself, or he was angered to such a state that it was an unconscious thing. Neither boded well for anyone who happened to get in his way.

It was perhaps lucky, than, that Orochimaru had chosen another of the less populated of his hideouts; it was a choice that likely saved a few lives, or at the very least averted a maiming. Not that it was likely his intent, of course, but things are what they are.

The hidden facility was underground, much like the previous one. Sasuke hadn't been told where it was located, but he had deduced that it was more than likely in the Land of Rivers, one of the larger of the non-elemental countries, located between fire and wind country. It had no shinobi village of it's own, and in truth was, despite it's size, a fairly unimportant country in the grand scheme of global politics. It was, as it's name implied, covered in rivers and wetlands, a fact which made it fertile ground for farming but also made much if it hard to traverse, even for a ninja.

Sasuke was moving quickly through the earthen halls, torches flickering as he went past. He hadn't truly been so angry until Orochimaru had decided to have a lengthy talk with the Uchiha about their arrangement, amongst other things. The discussion hadn't been particularly noteworthy, and Sasuke hadn't really been sure of why Orochimaru had bothered. That was until he'd deemed it necessary to question if Sasuke had a backbone at all, for being unable to fight his old comrades. Orochimaru accused him, more mocking than serious, of getting soft. It was less an accusation and more an insult, and despite himself Sasuke reacted.

Well, to be more precise, he almost exploded. Sasuke choked back his rage and then stormed out of the room. That alone was a sign of particularly impressive control; he refrained from showing his hand or messing up his plans too soon, at least. Later, he might consider that Orochimaru was baiting him for just that reason, but at the moment it was simple anger. So much so that he barely noticed the soft burning of the triple tomoe mark branded to his neck. In fact, he didn't even notice it until he was halfway back to his quarters, at which point the brand was searing red.

It took a moment to regain himself, pouring his focus into containing the cursed seal. Sasuke cursed himself for neglecting his control exercises over the mark, having spent an increasing amount of time training with Sakura instead. In truth, though, the seal hadn't acted up like this in months. It was feeding on his current anger, looping in on itself to amplify it and feed again. The Uchiha fell against the wall, dragging himself towards his new room.

He threw the door open with a fair bit of undue force. The marks were beginning to grow on him now, spreading down his arm and body. Sasuke could have sworn someone was talking to him, but what was said was lost in the haze that clouded his perception of everything. The pain was becoming worse by the second. And then, like the touch of ice, a cooling wave began from his shoulder and washed through him. Sasuke was conscious just long enough to see Sakura's worried face as she held on to him, lips moving in unheard pleas.

And then there was blackness.

* * *

_Back in Konohagakure no Sato..._

She had long thought that her shyness was a thing of the past, the close contact over the past few weeks with Naruto having purged it from her. Or so she'd thought, and hoped. Unfortunately for her, the moment they'd returned from the last mission she'd seen Naruto more dejected than she ever seen him. For more than he'd been even after his teammates had left nearly three years prior. It was terrible to watch, and yet Hinata found herself unable to look away.

When they'd first returned, he had been silent through the entire mission report. He had spent the entire time staring at his feet, and disappeared without a word after they had been dismissed. Hinata's concern was such that she was unable to bring herself to let it be. She spent a few hours trying to find him, but he was unseen to the majority of the populous. She wasn't sure what drove her to the old spot, where she'd found him so long ago right before the ill-fated chuunin exam finals.

Hinata found Naruto even worse than she feared; Naruto was slumped against one of the wooden training posts, with his arms hanging listlessly at his side and head hanging low. Hinata had grown uncomfortably used to seeing Naruto so very much unlike his usual energetic and full-of-life self, but in all the time she had yet to see him so bad. Not even after every other failed mission to find his old teammates, nor the years without leads. Not even right after they'd disappeared.

She realized that she was hiding again, watching him from a distance. The shyness was gripping her tight, and despite the urge to do something, anything really, she simply could not push herself out from her hiding spot in the grove of trees that surrounded the training site. So much had happened, the last thing she wanted was to make it worse for him. Hinata wasn't really sure how she could, but she certainly wasn't confident that she wouldn't, either.

Indeed, seeing Naruto like this seemed to sap the confidence from her. He had done so much for her, driven her so hard without even knowing. It was not like so many others who tried to motivate her; they all demanded something from her. Naruto simply inspired by doing, smiling, and by the simple act of being Naruto. But just as he could be the brightest light in the room, when it was snuffed out like this the life of everything seemed to flee. Everything else mattered less.

Hinata had always considered Naruto to be strong. Recent revelations about what he'd been through, and what he held inside of him made that even more evident to her, and she constantly kicked herself for the twangs of fear she had felt after learning. She wasn't strong like he was, and if even he could be in such a state then what did it say for her? He had lost his will, and in turn Hinata had lost her own. She realized how pathetic that was; so dependent on someone else to such a point. It was wrong for her to be on his team, she didn't deserve that. He needed someone who could pick him up and hold him; someone to stoke his fire when it grew dull and weak. Hinata couldn't do that. He needed someone who could.

And it was that thought that seemed to stoke something in her. The thought of someone else with Naruto, something she hadn't truly considered. It was strange; he'd shown interest in Sakura, but she had not thought of what it would be like for someone else to show interest in him. How strange that the thought of him holding someone did not inspire as the thought of someone else holding him did. Something changed in her, a strange click. It wasn't some grand epiphany that revealed something grand and deep about her. Indeed, Hinata never really thought about what it actually meant, as people so rarely did. It was a small thing, but so often that was all it took, and all that really counted.

Hinata decided that if Naruto needed someone to be strong, then she would be strong. Strong outside of him, for when his strength was not enough. She did not stop to consider the philosophical ramifications of this choice. She did not consider how this would change her life, or how deep and meaningful it was. In truth, it wasn't deep and meaningful at all, for she did not think of it in that way at all. She did it because she loved him.

Love meant many things to many and for many different people. It was that moment that Hinata truly realized what her love meant.

Naruto looked up at her as she reached and sat down next to him, folding her legs under her as she did. It was a wordless exchange as their eyes met, a brief moment of silence followed by a small smile from the blond-haired boy. Without a thought he rested his head against he shoulder and closed his eyes, blissfully unaware of the red color Hinata was sporting.

It was a small thing. But some times that was all it took, and all that really counted.

* * *

_Elsewhere in Konoha..._

Sai was unsure of himself. This was a particularly unappealing situation, thankfully rare but still unavoidable at this juncture. After returning from the mission, and debriefing, he had been quick to report to his Root superior. In this case it had been a direct report to Danzou himself. And for the first time, Sai found himself lying to a superior.

It was unsettling how easy I came to him, a reflexive mechanism that allowed him to weave a sufficiently convincing replacement for the truth. Sai had covered up his disobedience of orders, and abandonment of the mission without a second thought. The unreaction provoked from Danzou made things almost worse, and the relief that washed through the Root operative when his report was finished was something totally alien.

But even more complicated for him was the strange relief that being told to stay with his new team gave him. It was a fear that he hadn't known he had, a fact that made it particularly difficult to hide. Danzou did not fail to notice that, it seemed, and chastised him somewhat for what the Root leader described as 'unnecessary emotional attachment.' Sai simply agreed and apologized, but Danzou left without another word.

Sai sat in silence for a long time. He wished his brother was there. Shin made things easier. But Shin had been sent on a mission not long before Sai had, and he was unsure of when, if ever, he would be returning. The thought of Shin not returning spiked many feelings in him, a fact that made Sai even more unsure.

He'd been taught to be emotionless. That it was a path to strength and peace. But Naruto's strength was different, driven by emotion. It was volatile and dangerous, but it was also... natural. Human. It reminded Sai so much of Shin.

And then, without much fanfare or thought, Sai decided that he would do whatever it took to help Naruto bring back his team. Shin would do that. And so Sai would to.

And then he wasn't so unsure of himself anymore.

* * *

END PROLOGUE: Pack Light

* * *

**Author Note:**

To the guy who posted three fairly unhappy reviews about the fact that the main character of a story with the power of the strongest existent demon sealed into his gut and who has a motivation and drive of an extreme level is somehow stronger than the supporting characters.

Cool story, bro.

But, because I'm bored, I'll break it down on all three reviews.

Firstly, you seem to forget that Hinata more or less gave a bit fuck you to Deidara when he attacked her, which seems to get ignored in favor of the fact that, while distracted, she gets hit with an attack. I don't remember giving an indication that Naruto could do it alone, and Kakashi sure as hell couldn't have. You seem to have attributed some things about how Naruto works that haven't really been shown either. And I've never had anyone really think what Naruto did is, per se, amazing. Certainly not elegant or flashy. As per poison, realize that would not make sense. Firstly, Deidara was going after his Jinchuuriki, not Sasori. Secondly, hard to judge what effects a bijuu would have on it's host; they haven't at all been shown to be the same universally.

Secondly, flat out the only one who could face Orochimaru in that group was Naruto, and only when he's got his tailed form up. Why? Because that was canon back in the actually story, and it makes sense! We're talking about one of the strongest people in the world here, someone who, while WITHOUT HIS ARMS took on both of the other Sannin. This guy is not a pushover. Attacking as a team would just get a majority of that team killed.

Thirdly, you take a situation in which Hinata shows exceptional skill and a unique power and somehow twist that into being more evidence of me just screwing the support cast over to prop up Naruto. Never mind that Naruto wasn't even in control of himself while fighting. Never mind the reason he was able to summon the ability to fight was because Hinata was in danger. Never mind that he likely would have DIED WITHOUT HER to shut down the bijuu chakra and heal him afterward. Therefor, lets summarize: Naruto reaches a draw, doesn't win, and would have died, which makes it almost a loss. Hinata's presence is the only thing that keeps him alive. This is Naruto blowing through someone in seconds.

All in all, you're points seem more like you made a decision and then tried to justify it through anything you saw. You also seem to think that the supporting cast will ever be of equal strength to the main character. They won't. Naruto will, inherently, be stronger than Hinata. Sasuke will, inherently, be stronger than Sakura. However, Hinata and Sakura, and the rest of the cast, will show particular skill at a later date, when they have a chance to. You forget that, for good reason, the story has been following an near-canon path, and that little differences have been setting up the later and more drastic changes.

That being said, in canon, Naruto has hardly been shown to be 'stronger than anything.' However, if he was, it would make sense too. The manga is not called Konoha nor is it called Hinata or Kakashi. It's Naruto. He's the title character. It's ABOUT HIM. Of course he's stronger, that's to be expected!

However, I do appreciate your longer reviews, even if I disagree with them. It's nice to see someone actually going through and giving some thought to things, not to discourage any of my other reviewers of course. I appreciate all of them. I hope next time, however, my anonymous critic may use a name, so I can PM him back personally, and perhaps start a discussion on this. Until then, this note will have to do.

Now, on another point, I found this chapter very hard to actually write, and rewrote many parts of it. Still am not totally pleased, but it is what it is and that is that. You'll notice that it has subtle differences from the prologue; it's the same event but written just slightly different. You'll also notice the main canon difference is that there is no fight; Sasuke and Sakura leave before Kabuto and Orochimaru show up, and even before Yamato shows up. This may seem minor, but look close and you'll see a very important thing that doesn't happen as it does in canon, and that will come back to later as a very important divergence that can change the story immensely.

This ends Part 1, which is the prologue of the story. I'll try to get the next chapters up soon.

Thus, coming soon... Part 2 of Pack Light: Poisoned Bonds. Look for it soon!


	18. Part 2 Prologue: Dreams

Sasuke had many moments of crushed expectations, both in the long and short term of his relatively few years of life. They had been small, a crushed hope of dinner or time spent with his beloved sibling. The shattered dreams of a real life encapsulated the long and large of these crushed expectations. It struck him quite potently that the majority of these failed and crushed dreams were directly related to his brother. It seemed quite fitting that even in these days he still could not help but continue to dash such expectations against the rocks.

This was not what Sasuke had intended to find; Itachi lounged upon a throne of solid blackened stone, as if cut from a solid piece with the pure essence of flame. Given who had wrought this fortress, it was likely this was not far from the truth. A half-rotten banner hung above him, bearing a decaying symbol of the Uchiha fan. The room was mostly bare, as if it had been long stripped of anything particularly valuable, leaving only soot-covered braziers that hadn't been lit for generations and the rotten wall tapestries long past any value.

The eldest son of Fugaku Uchiha rested his head lazily upon a fist, braced against the stone arm of the large throne. His face would seem almost contemptuous if it wasn't so uncommitted, and to anyone else the visage of the robed man might have even appeared almost comical. But to Sasuke, it was simply insulting. All the time and effort he'd spent, the humor of his very being poured into the quest for vengeance. He'd discarded his future, his humanity, and justice itself in the path of the avenger.

Sasuke felt the surge of anger growing inside of him, feeding and forming into that self-destructive loop he'd become quite used to. The three-tomoe mark on his neck, one that nearly matched the black-on-red spiral tomoe marks in his eyes, began to burn. The anger flowed through his body and into it, causing it to slowly glow with barely contained heat. Sasuke grit his teeth in silence, and stifled a frown; the pain was becoming dangerously bearable.

His hand shifted up unconsciously, wrapping around the long crystal that hung from a roughly spun string around his neck, vibrant color like pink cherry blossoms. The simple act sent another emotion through him, soothing the heat pain with a wave of relief. Sasuke had come to rely on the simplistic crystalline fetish more and more often as the mark attempted to reassert some level of control over it's growingly reluctant host.

Itachi watched in contained bemusement. He was a master of body language, but the utter lack of subtly about his younger brother made it pathetically easy. Likewise, the burst of red-hot anger and killer intent that had begun to bleed from him had been snuffed out quickly, or perhaps buried was more appropriate. Simple though they were Sasuke's actions, to Itachi, spoke untold volumes. His brother had not listened to him after all, it would seem.

"Where is that hate, Sasuke?" he asked suddenly, eyes opening wider for just the briefest of moments. "I told you to hate me with everything you have, and still you refuse it. You come to me even in this state? I told you I'm not interested in you until you're strong, and without that hate, you are nothing."

Sasuke was far more controlled this time, squinting almost imperceptivity. But the sharp Uchiha eyes missed nothing. Itachi caught it, assuming an upright stance as he did.

"I stopped listening to your poison some time ago, Itachi." Sasuke said with malice, letting himself slip on purpose. "You destroyed your life, and I destroyed mine. But at least I stopped and recovered some it. It's too late for you."

Itachi seemed profoundly amused by this, smile creeping onto his stoic features. How amusing.

"You think you've strayed from what I've done because you've deluded yourself that you're 'in love,' hmm?" the elder Uchiha said, derision seeping through his words. He felt a flare of anger rise in his brother again and marveled. It was choked back quickly, Sasuke's hand once again finding the crystal necklace right before it did.

"What would you know of love?" Sasuke said, and for the briefest of moments a pained look snuck onto Itachi's face, thankfully (or unfortunately, as it might be), it was either missed or misinterpreted by the younger of the brothers.

"So you've become so enlightened now." Itachi said, appearing behind Sasuke in a sudden moment. "But yet come after me still. Such a power, this love you've fallen into apparently has."

Sasuke wasn't fooled by the genjutsu, formidable though it was. Even as he reflexively snapped his head back to look his arm raised. A crackling lance of energy sprung from his hand, piercing the solid stone of the throne. Sasuke turned back to find Itachi had reassumed his lazy pose, Chidori Eisou scant inches from his head.

Sasuke repeated his question.

"What would you know of love?"

* * *

Otter felt a sharp pain in his chest, unlike any he'd ever experienced before. He looked down to find a fist coming out in quite the inappropriate place, and the electric storm of chirping birds he held in his claw-formed hand began to die away as his spirit vacated his body. It was sudden and brutal. His ribs were cracked and shattered, organs pulped. How he lived was the true miracle, even though it lasted only scant for seconds.

He whispered something unintelligible as he fell. He was dead before he hit the ground.

* * *

He stood atop the monument, eyes wide with triumph and happiness, red-trimmed white coat flapping in the wind and wide-brimmed hat upon his head. It was a culmination of all the trials he'd been through. All hardships, pains, fights, and lessons. He had done it, at last. He'd achieved a dream he'd had for over two decades. It was something he'd earned, that much was clear. The crowd below roared it's approval.

A single lavender-eyed girl watched with tears of joy. They were for many things; for the young man standing above in triumph, for the promise they'd made to each other not long ago, and for the evidence of that promise she held within. Her eyes let him see far sharper than most of the crowd, and they seemed to instinctively focus on the simple golden band he wore on his left ring finger. It was just like the one on hers. Her hand fell to her stomach, tears flowing freely as she felt the pulse of life beneath.

Yes, Dreams did come true.

* * *

Crystal erupted from the ground, countless spires of geometrical pink. They launched themselves three meters into the air, filling the land with smoke as dozens of kage bunshin were destroyed by their sudden rise. For the briefest of moments, the field was nothing but crystal. It lasted a scant few seconds as the clones burst into localized whirlwinds, feeding off each other and growing as more clones burst and joined the others, releasing the stored power from within. The crystals shattered easily, winds transforming the field into a desert of pink dust. Small dust devils rolled across the land, filling the air with sparkling pink.

Sakura was panting, hands still firmly planted into the ground from her previous jutsu, green-eyes wide with shock. But she recovered fast, standing upright and letting an open hand shoot from the confines of her black robe which bore the the red cloud symbols of Akatsuki, the pink trim unique to her own, and the large metal emblems that hung from each arm. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized what she was going to do, mouth opening to protest. He was a fraction of a second too late as her hand closed into a fist.

Crystal stars burst into existence all over the field.

* * *

The village was barely recognizable as such; splintered and scattered building extended as far as the eyes could see. It was a terrible thing to behold, foundations swept bare in some places, smoldering ruins in others, and between them all a horrible mess of broken wood, tile, and stone. If not for the remarkably resilient hokage monument it would be almost impossible to imagine that this place was the ninja village of the Land of Fire, legendary Konohagakure no Sato; the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Nearby, a massive settlement of tents and hastily constructed shacks and shanties extended throughout areas less devastated, where there had been little development; training fields and farms mostly, and some simply less prosperous sections of the village, or those who had been somehow shielded from the devastation wrought upon the rest of Konoha. The smell of packed bodies, both a remarkable amount of living and shockingly few dead, filled the air, mingling with the smoldering ruins and other smells of devastation and desperation.

Despite the oppressive atmosphere, which seemed perfect for the propagation of despair, the air was instead charged with power, electric and eager. A crowd had gathered by the ruins of the massive gates of Konoha, despite a myriad of wounds and injuries, as well as the grime and dirt they carried. A single figure walked towards them, and even from this distance they could make out the brilliant golden hair of the man who had saved the village from total annihilation.

His jacket was frayed and worn, body cut and bleeding. But his stride was strong, purposeful. He entered, eyes wide at the crowd arrayed before him. Tears began to well up in those eyes as he surveyed the group, noticing the forms of people one after the other that he had known to be dead. But it was not until his eyes fell onto a single lavender-eyed girl that the tears became a raging torrent. He was running blind now. His stride became a run. Murmurs became cheers as he neared.

Hinata was in no state to meet him; her clothes were torn and dirty, marks where her miraculously healed wounds had rapidly scarred over sometimes evident beneath his rent attire. She watched as he came closer, eyes opening as he neared. Her hand flew to cover her mouth in shock as Naruto neared the group, his beautiful deep blue eyes replaced with a series of concentric black rings over white.

* * *

Hinata jolted awake, heart pounding rapidly in her chest and rivulets of sweat rolling across her face. The veins on the side of her face were slowly receding as she woke, vision blurring into reality and escaping the fugue state of the terribly real dreams. Dream were not supposed to hurt, but her hand was still clutching her chest, one of many seemingly hallucinatory pains that marked the sites of imaginary wounds. Pain in her chest, arms, legs, and places she did not even want to imagine. Worst of all, however, was the pain that welled up deep within her heart.

She felt sticky, and realized that her body was completely drenched from head to toe. Hinata sat in her bed for an unknown amount of time, panting and wheezing, fighting for breath each passing moment. They haunted her still, visions. She pushed herself out of her bed, mindlessly going about changing her clothes. She knew that it was night, still, given the lack of light coming from the windows. It was a blessing that she had not screamed, she though absently as she stripped off the drenched articles of clothing and found replacements, still strangely dazed and haunted.

Time was still skewed to her perception, and she knew not how long it took her to change into dry clothes and strip down her bed. The lack of knowledge was painfully uncomfortable, particularly given the other knowledge she seemed to have been granted in it's place. Hinata knew not where those dreams had come from, nor why she could recall them so clearly. But she knew immediately two things about them. Firstly, they she knew that she had wished to never had them, strange tears of both sadness and joy welling into her wide Hyuuga eyes. And secondly, she knew, somehow and some way, that each and every one of them was perfectly true.


	19. Part 2, Chapter 1: Hawk and Snake

Naruto was jogging down the street with a smile on his face, pulling along a blushing Hinata as he did. He was smiling, so much so that it gave question to how he could even see where he was going. Still, he managed to navigate a path through the moderately crowded streets of the afternoon hours, making sure to account for his companion as well. It wasn't particularly difficult, thankfully; though prosperous, Konoha was hardly overcrowded, and that made the village comfortably navigable by almost anyone, even in the middle of the bustling day. Hinata, for her part, seemed contented to simply follow along, marveling at the feel of his hand holding hers, and not attempting much more thought passed that to avoid turning even redder than she already was or, heaven forbid, a spell of fainting. She enjoyed that about Naruto; so often, he let her forget that various troubles and problems of life through both choice and, in the case of avoiding the fate of temporary unconsciousness, necessity.

It helped to not focus too much on their relationship either, as strange as that was. It had evolved naturally, something that she always had a hard time pinpointing the start of. They'd fallen into it some time after the mission to the Tenchi Bridge and the fateful encounter with Naruto's former teammates that followed. It was a subtle thing, a barely noticeable change from there being you and I to we; from a him and her and me to a them.

They hadn't had much time to talk about anything after he'd returned from the long trip, thrust right into a mission to save the Kazekage from Akatsuki. After that, guided by the information gleaned during that mission that had led them to that fateful bridge in Grass country, they once again found themselves thrust into the whirlwind. Thankfully, the hokage had deemed a period of respite fitting after the two high class missions, and had been granting team Kakashi only the barest minimum of missions, and a scant few of those were anything more than easy Rank Cs.

Suddenly gifted with time in excess, both Naruto and Hinata found themselves falling back into an old routine from years past; they'd meet up relatively early and spend the day together. At first, this was simply a matter of training, as they often had done before. But slowly it bled away into simple time spent together, often on the most mundane of things.

It was a subtle growth. They had not at all realized that they had begun a relationship. Instead, the pair fell into it. Sweet to behold, the small acts they did for each other came as easy as breathing for them; Naruto would bring flowers sometimes, sometimes bought with his long-saved wages but often also grown from his own little gardens. Hinata brought him the results of her culinary explorations; little treats and snacks in amusing shapes.

They had, without at all realizing it, become the sweetest couple that Ino Yamanaka had ever laid eyes upon.

Ino watched from her seat in the corner café. It was a small and mostly informal place she'd learned about from her training with Morino-sensei, frequented by members of the ANBU, and more specifically by members of the Torture and Interrogation Unit she was now a part of. Naruto and Hinata jogged past, hand in hand, far too engrossed in each other's company to notice their old classmate quietly nursing a cup of cherry tea. Ino didn't mind. She was, after all, a romantic herself. She could not fault young love.

"Well, aren't they cute?"

The young interrogator turned to find another member of the ANBU, abet out of uniform, approaching at a leisurely pace. The pair had become moderately closer, sharing connections with the ANBU, abet different divisions, and with the still officially denied relationship that their jounin sensei shared. Ino smirked, having to admit for a moment that Kiba had filled out quite nicely since graduation. He had taken to leaving his jacket open, showing off a well-chiseled chest and abs. The rigors of ANBU life had made an already physical man even more impressive. If Ino was into that sort of thing, she surely would be after Kiba in a heartbeat.

But she wasn't.

"It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen." She replied with a smile. Kiba pulled the chair to the left of her out quickly and quietly, spinning it around and sitting down with his arms folded over the 'back.' Akamaru, sporting an eye patch as his most obvious physical disability, laid down next to his master. Even though injuries from that fateful mission had ended his short career as a nindog, Kiba and the canine were still inseparable when the former had off time.

"So innocent and sweet. I understand Hinata, but who would have thought Naruto could be that way." She continued. Kiba simply chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I'm still keeping my eyes on him so he doesn't try anything funny." He said with a grin.

Ino didn't even need to drawn upon the countless hours of training that Ibiki had put her through on reading people to know that there was a hint of truth behind Kiba's joking words. She did, however, draw on those skills on the matter of why. Some might have thought he harbored a flame for his old teammate, but Ino knew better; Hinata was a little sister to the tokubetsu jounin, and any desire to be anything more than that was quickly snuffed out by just how obvious Hinata's affections were for the blond-haired knucklehead. That was a single target sexuality in action.

But, like an older and very protective brother, Kiba still seemed to see Naruto with some amount of suspicion. It was inevitable and, in it's own way, quite cute as well. Ino chuckled internally. Kiba was full of surprises, like so many of her class had been. Some surprises, of course, where less enjoyable then others. Her training let her control her expression and she gave no hint of the pang of sadness that washed through her when she thought of her best friend, and an old flame.

She was colder now, she knew. It was little things. Watching Lee grind away each day, hoping blindly to reach a level that he could rescue his supposed love. Ino suspected it would have faded eventually, if he and Sakura had actually interacted. But he had been locked into the past of his own mind and quirks. It was borderline self-destructive, and concern amongst their group of friends had been shared. His teammates had tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to help, but now reserved themselves to simply watch for signs of it getting any worse. What they would do then was hard to say, even for Ino.

Kiba. He handled things perhaps the best of them all. Ino had long ago admitted her own obsession, with a small bit of help from a certain pineapple-haired shadow user, with never being surprised had become almost as unhealthy as Lee's obsession with training, and had taken steps to reign herself in. Kiba had been similar; he'd thrown himself into training after Kakashi offered his help, but even after his elevation to tokubetsu jounin and joining the ANBU Black Ops, he'd remained strangely… him. He still walked with Akamaru, he still spent time with his friends and family. And, though she'd toned down things she was still a master of reading people. He was perhaps the most honest person she knew, both to him self and to others.

"He won't." Ino said, slightly late she realized. Kiba just grinned his toothy grin.

"Yeah, well, you'd know, huh? You should really stop trying to read everyone's mind. I mean, I know that's your thing, and all but… well, you know, eh?" Kiba said. Ino furrowed her brow. Yes, honest and blunt. Ino was cursed. Why were all of the men in her life like that?

"Not like it takes much effort with you simple brutes." She said, hint of truth lacing her words. If Kiba picked it up, he didn't seem to care, and responded simply with a laugh as the waitress brought around his usual order. He flashed a flirty smile to the young lady, who returned it with gusto. Ino shook her head. Yes, he was definitely the best adjusted of them all.

A sudden and unstoppable frown overtook her features as her mind turned to the cute couple who'd just passed by. Naruto and Hinata. They were adorable, and fantastic for each other, she knew. But she worried about them. She understood why Ibiki-sensei and, to a degree, Anko-san were the way they were. It wasn't the seeing things that got you, that were just the start. For people like them, it was the understanding. Understanding was as much a curse as it was a gift. It forced you to realize things, know what you never wanted to know, and deal with what you never wanted to deal.

Naruto was amazing for being so emotionally resilient, but there was that simmering layer of anger and sadness that lurked beneath things, and most of all resentment. It was tempered by boundless amounts of determination and love, but it remained never the less. There seemed to always be something else inside of Naruto, locked away. Ino wasn't sure she ever wanted to see it get out. But even for all of that, Hinata was even worse.

Hinata was the biggest liar that Ino had ever known, and being a member of the Torture and Interrogation unit meant that she encountered truly remarkable examples of them as a part of her job descriptions. She was the best kind of liar too, the one that rarely ever spoke their lies. Instead, she kept it all hidden away, much like Naruto, but whereas he countered it with his natural energy, she had only her shyness and baggy clothes. She had learned much from Naruto, and Ino truly hoped she picked up that side of him as well. Ino understood something else very clearly as well; while Hinata was the hardest of their friends to read, she was also a strange sort of cornerstone; rarely noticed or recognized, but vitally important never the less. If she succumbed to the rigors of Shinobi life than it would leave an unspeakable wound on the rest of the remaining Konoha Twelve. Ino had no idea what it would truly do to them all.

'That bond; so natural and young. That might end up saving them- us- all.' she thought. Her inner romantic took hold of that thought and forced her to smile. It was a good thought, after all.

* * *

Naruto pushed onward towards the training field that Hinata and he had, in a de facto way, claimed as their own. The third training field, same place where Naruto and the original Team 7 had their fateful 'bell test,' but also the place that, in a very important way, changed Hinata in Naruto's eyes. She went from the shy, dark weirdo to someone who, while still quite shy, he found himself admiring.

She'd been there for him too after that fateful mission, and in more ways than one. Tsunade-baa-chan had said something about her helping him recover, and then all the times she'd come to visit him, brought along meals to escape from the somewhat less then palatable hospital food. After that, they'd fallen into a strange sort of groove. They began training together, a fact that greatly helped the pair in a very real way.

For Naruto, training with someone at all was an improvement; even working as a part of Team 7, Sasuke was always reluctant to do any actual training with Naruto, and Sakura was barely any better. As they began to train more and more often, Naruto rapidly began to make up for a great amount of lost time. However, while Naruto was making steady progress, Hinata was increasing by leaps and bounds.

Each day she seemed to show marked improvement. The young Hyuuga heiress' byakugan showed the most notable level of improvement; she was reacting faster, her eyes becoming even more precise. After a few weeks, her raw range had doubled, though she hadn't realized it till far later. She became more and more skilled at tracking, learning to pick out a specific hidden shadow clone that carried some random object they'd chosen from out of dozens or more, scattered through the various forests that surrounded the village.

Regular practice with the jyuuken style of taijutsu outside of the somewhat more critical dojos of the Hyuuga family compound was allowing her to feel far more comfortable with it, focusing more on being effective than copying each move perfectly. And, against an erratic and wild opponent like Naruto, she was developing the adaptability that all fighters required; what use was knowing all the forms when fights were never so choreographed.

Naruto sat down, leaning back against the three wooden posts that jutted up from the center of the field. He threw his arms out in a wide stretch, yawning wide and loud. Hinata brought her hand up to her face in a giggle, sitting down next to him and setting the cloth-bundled containers of food she'd been carrying down next to her. He turned and grinned at her as she laughed, a fact that caused a rosy tint to appear on her cheeks, something that only made him grin wider.

Back then, they'd been friends. What they were now was hard to say. Hinata looked off into the sky with a sigh and smile. She felt as though she was living in a dream; never had she imagined that she would be able to spend her days like this, with Naruto at her side. She was becoming stronger, she thought, because of him. And, remarkably to her, he was becoming stronger too. Hinata was helping him too, and that simple fact seemed to fill her with such happiness that it was hard to even describe.

She pushed thoughts of he strange dreams from her head as they attempted to reassert themselves, even the ones that made her smile rather than cry; she found it hard to think of one with out the other, after all. Instead, she simply sat and enjoyed the moment, pushing the memories of those vivid images deep away.

Naruto continued to look at Hinata, similar thoughts running through his own head. He was no idiot; simple, perhaps, sometimes, but definitely not an idiot. Naruto could see his own feelings, and he realized now that Hinata felt the same. It was a strange thing; they'd never said a word to each other about it. Where they together, now? He found himself being pulled deeper down that path.

Suddenly, he felt a strange desire wash over him, slight foxy grin returning to his face. There was, of course, one way to find out.

"Hinata-chan?" He asked softly, building up his courage. He'd faced down deadly foes time and time again, but suddenly he felt like the scared little boy he'd been so long ago. He took a gulp of air.

"Naruto-k-mph!?" Hinata replied as she turned, only to be sharply cut off. She realized in an instant what was happening; no slow realization that she'd read about in so many silly love stories, but the effect was all the same. He was kissing her. Naruto was kissing her. It was sloppy, hardly the picturesque scene she might have expected, but once again, the effect was all the same. Blood rushed through her face.

It lasted only a few seconds. It was a sloppy, inexperienced kiss. They stared at each other for a short while, Naruto scratching the back of his head to hide his nervousness. Hinata said nothing, eventually letting a smile creep to her face, somehow fighting off a fainting spell, though unable to hide the rosy color that flushed across her face. No words were spoken.

The second kiss was slightly less sloppy, and slightly less inexperienced than the first.

The third was even better.

By the fourth, at least to them, they had it spot on.

* * *

Sasuke sat cross-legged, deep black sheath of his sword resting across his lap. He moved his thumb lightly back and forth over it's hilt, breathing low and direct. There was no sound in the small room save the low flickering of the candles on the wall and the dancing shadows they cast.

His eyes we closed as he meditated, but even in that state he was aware. Behind him, Sakura sat with equal silence, but where Sasuke seemed to assume an almost petrified state, still as a statue, Sakura felt like a tightly wound gearbox, full of stored energy to the point of bursting, kept contained only by a sheer force of will. It was strange to think that, in a way, they were that way because of each other; Sakura calmed Sasuke in a way he'd only recently begun to acknowledge, while Sakura seemed driven ever more by Sasuke's presence. She'd become strong and determined.

'And devoted beyond all measure." Sasuke thought, letting the barest twinges of a grin spread across his face. He let the feeling over pent-up energy wash through him, calming him in its strange way. It was trust, he realized. He had grown to trust Sakura, devotion and love being catalysts for this quiet alien feeling. It was a strange thing to know that, should someone appear from the shadows, he would be protected before he even made a move. The fact that it would be unnecessary, being more than capable of taking care of himself, was irrelevant.

'Itachi was a fool.'

Sasuke paused internally for a brief moment as that thought crossed his mind. It had been nagging him for some time now. Itachi told him to hate with all he was, but Sasuke felt stronger than he ever had when he'd given up a small portion of that hate, replacing it with something that seemed just as strong to him. Love, passion, and trust; they mingled with his hate. He was thinking clearer now, driven on by the maelstrom they kicked up rather then attempting to subsist exclusively on the rage his brother had instilled in him.

It felt good to disobey his brother, Sasuke had realized. It felt right. He'd made his own way in life, his own path of vengeance. It started that night in the valley, and it had brought him here. He was stronger now, he knew, and he had something that Itachi did not.

He had Sakura. He had his love, a fact he more readily accepted as he realized just how useful it was. Sasuke did not feel callous to think of it as such. Acknowledging its usefulness did nothing to mitigate its truth in his eyes. It was what it was.

He stood up quietly. Sakura was at his side before he could say a word, springing from his place on their bed in and instant, just as he knew she would be. Slowly, he tucked the sheath of his weapon into his sash. His hand moved for the door, but he froze suddenly.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked with a hint of concern. He simply turned part of the way around, planting a small kiss onto her lips, much to her surprise and delight.

"For luck." He said charmingly, pushing the door open as he did.

* * *

"I fucking hate all this walking!" Hidan exclaimed, throwing his head back as he did. His feet hurt and his back was killing him; they'd been walking for what seemed like days now, apparently lost in some sort of tropical maze. Hidan's scowl deepened when he realized that Kazuku had just kept walking on.

"Hey, you bastard! Wait up!"

"No. Time is money, you keep up." The patchwork man said, already agitated. This had taken far too long. They'd entered the Land of the Waterfall months ago, searching out the jinchuuriki of the seven-tailed horned beetle. It had been Kazuku's old homeland, but his knowledge was somewhat limited for modern times; he hadn't been to Takigakure no Sato very often since he'd gone rogue, much in the same way that Deidara was not exactly a regular visitor to the Village Hidden in the Rocks.

Trails had become overgrown in many places, only to be cut anew by another group of travelers or trampled down by the various creatures that roamed these lands. The entire country wound with dirt paths, and the few trafficked and permanent roads were too public for the black-robed missing-nin to make use of. None of those permanent roads would take them to their eventual goal anyway; they did not call it a hidden village for nothing.

"Jeez, not even a moment of rest. You're a fucking slave driver, Kazuku!" the grey-haired and foul-mouthed fanatic shouted, jogging lightly to catch up with the inexorable pace of his partner. Kazuku said nothing.

For some time, the pair simply walked in silence, Kazuku leading them down yet another path. The only sound was the chirping of birds or the scampering of some other creature that inhabited the forests. That didn't last long.

"So, Kazuku, you know this Fuu chick?" Hidan asked, hands folded behind his head as he strolled along. Kazuku said nothing.

"Nah, guess not, you're old a shit, she must be pretty young, yeah?" he continued, apparently unconcerned with his partners lack of response. "Wonder if she's hot. Or fuckable, at least. Hey, Kazuku, do you still have a penis?"

There was a heavy thumping sound as Hidan fell forward in a heap, one of his legs severed cleanly from his body. It landed a few feet away, leaking blood from the stump. The Jashin fanatic sputtered and cursed, confused for a moment before rolling over to get his mouth out of the dirt as he did.

"You motherfucker! That was my damn leg, goddamn! That hurts like shit! You ass!"

"Shut up, Hidan." Kazuku said, already moving to retrieve the leg from the ground, tendril-like threads wrapping around and moving it back into place.

"Hey, it was a valid question!"

Kazuku managed to restrain himself from removing something higher up.

* * *

Orochimaru sat upright in his bed, silent and still. To an inexperienced eye, he might appear to be a corpse, and in a since it was correct. The white snake of the sannin cursed his crumbling body; twice cursed the knowledge that had eluded him for so long; and thrice cursed the damnable Sasuke Uchiha who had taken so long to arrive. But even as his mind raged, his body remained still; his control over the slowly rotting thing was diminishing, and he felt no desire to wallow in the pain that occurred whenever he sought to move.

His jutsu was almost perfect. After countless years of study and experimentation, he'd finally managed to crack the gates of heaven and snatch immortality. He had the power of reincarnation in his hands, and he was perfecting it every time. But even one as prideful as he had to admit it had its flaws; the time duration was an unsavory, but necessary flaw, one he had hopes to correct. But, had he bonded his soul closer to this body than it might have lasted longer, but would have prevented him from leaving it for even longer then the three year duration.

In a moment of anger he lashed out, knocking a collection of vials and unguents from the desk next to the bed, ignoring the biting pain that coursed through his body as he moved. This shouldn't have been. He should have had the power of the sharingan by now, and the secrets of true immortality should have been his! But three times it had been denied to him. To him! It was unfathomable!

His head snapped up, staring at the wooden door to his bedchamber, a sudden snarl crossing his face. There had been no sound, but there hadn't needed to be. Even with his body in this state his senses were not dulled.

"You little bastard!" He rasped, just moments before a brilliant spear of light pierced the wooden frame of the door. Orochimaru threw up his hands in a defensive reflex, gasping as it pierced both his attempt to block and his lung, numbing tendrils of electricity shooting through his system.

The door came apart, diced into tinder. It fell to reveal Sasuke, sword in one hand and crackling power of chidori eisou in the other. Three black tomoe swirled over blood red orbs, aura of almost palpable malice bleeding from him. But, both shockingly and insulting to the pale snake-nin, Sasuke had not activated the Cursed Seal of Heaven that sat on his neck. Orochimaru strained to exert his will over it, but with the subjects will reinforced by the binding seal that circled it, such attempts garnered nothing but more pain for the most fallen of the sannin.

"I regret to inform you that I must dissolve our working relationship, Orochimaru." Sasuke said with a wicked grin. "My reasons are both personal and professional, I'm sure you understand."

"You think you can beat me, boy!" Orochimaru barked, eyes beginning to glaze over as they did.

"Think? I know. You're weaker then me, Orochimaru. There is no reason for me to give you my body any more. How pathetic, the lauded genius that was one of the Sannin, brought this low. You couldn't get Itachi, so you tried for me, but in the end, you're just nothing compared to the Uchiha.

"You wanted our power so bad, so you immersed yourself with foul medicine and stealing other peoples bodies. For all your supposed genius you're nothing but a spoiled child; a pathetic little thief of other talent. It's disgusting!

"And for what reason? You want to tug at the threads of existence, or unravel the logic of the world, or however you want to say it. You toy around with people like they were toys for your amusement, such a stupid and selfish reason."

A sound like the chirping of birds drowned out all other sounds as Sasuke fell silent. He stood, holding the crackling spear still as a memory flashed before his eyes, rousing greater anger from inside of him.

"You make me sick!" he shouted, spitting out the words as if they were poison. And, without another word, Sasuke threw himself forward, glinting silver of his sword slashing out. He thrust the blade forward, aiming to pierce Orochimaru between his eyes.

Orochimaru threw his mouth impossibly open. Moments before the blade impacted, an equally impossibly sized object shot from it, covered in slime, landing with an foul squelching sound a few feet from the bed. Sasuke looked over his shoulder with contempt.

"A white-scaled snake. How fitting of a true identity." Sasuke said, barest hints of red beginning to flood his cursed seal. "You're not even human anymore, just a beast to be put down!"

"Now… Sasuke-kun… your body…" Orochimaru hissed in return, bringing his massive form up to full height. It was true, he had become utterly inhuman; a massive snake, four-fold the length of a man, covered in thousand of snakeheads in place of scales. Orochimaru's maw dripped with a foul ichor, and his silted eyes focused down upon the Uchiha with untold malice and greed. He reared back to strike. "Give it to me!"

Sasuke vaulted to the left, tucking and rolling as he hit the ground. Two of the snakehead-scales hissed and shot off from the body, growing from it as they sought after Sasuke. The Uchiha lashed out with his blade, slicing through the pair and showering the room with thick, dark blood.

The beast reared up again, howling incomprehensibly. Dozens upon dozens of the heads began to shoot out, rearing up all the same, eyes all focused upon their much wanted prey. It was a crucial mistake.

"In the end, you're nothing but a snake that crawls around in the dust and dreams of flying." Sasuke said, defiance in his eyes even as the creatures filled the room around him. He grinned. "You've become so inhuman that you can't even understand people at all, Orochimaru. Pathetic."

Rage filled hissing drowned out all sound. The white snakes swarmed over Sasuke, wrapping around binding him completely. Orochimaru began to cackle, as he watched, mad joy filling his eyes. What a fool the boy was, to challenge a being such as him!

He was caught with total surprise as the pink crystals burst from the writhing mass of snakes, severing heads from bodies and dicing the snakes by the dozens. Orochimaru howled in pain and anger. Sasuke hadn't stopped grinning, even as the bodies cleared to reveal a pink crystalline shield.

Sakura was crouched at the shattered doorway, hands flat against the ground. She was grinned even wider than Sasuke was, marveling at the success of her handiwork. A crystal had formed around her beloved Sasuke-kun, diamond hard. She hadn't stopped there, however, allowing wild crystalline spires to grow from the geode. And, just as fast as they'd formed, the crystal growths shattered away.

Sasuke leaped up, blade flashing as he went for the kill.

* * *

Hinata's eyes grew wide as chakra flooded through them, veins around their edges bulging. Her byakugan had grown in power remarkably, particularly because of this sort of training that she'd been doing with Naruto for some time now. Thoughts of the blond-haired ninja made her face flush even more than it already was as she remembered his earlier boldness, and she felt as though she could fly.

He had kissed her. HE had KISSED HER. No matter how many times it ran over in her head, it never got old and she never seemed to come down. The world seemed brighter, the future clearer, even as it filled with a host of new unknowns. But even these unknowns were ones she was looking forward to, many causing greater blushes on her young face.

She shook herself, as her mind drifted to one such thought for the dozenth time, cheeks burning. Hinata forced herself to focus on the exercise had hand; Naruto was waiting for her, after all. Her perception shifted, extending outwards as she scanned the forest for over half a dozen kilometers in all directions. Unbeknownst to her, a strange symbol flashed across her eyes, and she felt her perception tugged onto a specific point.

A frown crossed her face as she watched a red hawk swoop down and pluck a wounded white snake from the grass, disappearing into the sky. What a strange thing to notice…

Hinata cleared her mind again and refocused. After all, she reminded herself once more, Naruto was waiting.


	20. Part 2, Chapter 2: Eldritch Things

It was a place of consummate wrongness. The entire place felt saturated with it, an utter feeling of alien perversion, a place outside of all that was logical and sound about existence. Rolling masses of undulating flesh; hills composed of muscle, raw and bleeding. It offended Sasuke's very being to behold it. He averted his eyes, looking to the sky, only to find a stinging pain as his eyes rejected the empty void. It was not black, a strange understanding being passed on by the special eyes he bore. It was nothing, the absence of something instead, as if the creator had grown bored of constructing the sky after he'd made his foul iteration of land.

Sasuke then realized that he was covered in it. The fleshy masses surrounded his feet, sloppy sucking noises that offended his ears as much as the rest of this hellish realm offending his eyes. He knew at an instant that struggling was only going to make the process faster. Summoning all his willpower, Sasuke readied himself, allowing the fleshy growths to surge upwards.

They grew quickly even without his struggle, surrounding his legs in short order. By the time they'd reached his upper body, Sasuke noticed that one section of the pulsating flesh was growing upwards as well. He looked back slightly, sound alerting him to similar growths behind him. Other trapped figures, encased almost fully in the fleshy prison, sat as if asleep. There was no spark of will within them, an empty shell or memory of what had long passed.

A foul snickering drew Sasuke's attention back forward. The Uchiha turned to find Orochimaru, humanoid body encased in a similar mound of pink muscle, slowly working his way forward. Half his face, pale and white as he was during life, was revealed, along with a single of his sinuous arms. The White Snake of the Sannin had but one eye uncovered, but it was filled with an unmistakable lust.

"The body fluids of the giant white snake evaporate on contact with the air, becoming a paralytic toxin. It's let me bring you here. Welcome to my realm, Sasuke-kun. This place is a dimension inside of me," Orochimaru spoke, slithering forward as he did.

"I'm not surprised," Sasuke replied, grinning even as the fleshy mass grew up around his arms. The tomoe of his sharingan were still spinning, "It would take someone as disgusting as you to think of a place like this."

Orochimaru simply grinned at the insult, hand jerking slightly as it raised upward, pointing out towards the youngest Uchiha. His vile cackle returned as he edged forward.

"Such insolence even now, Sasuke-kun," he said, wagging a single disapproving finger at Sasuke as he did.

"This is where the final ritual will take place, my Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru continued, long tongue rolling from his mouth as he did. It shook slightly in foul anticipation, dripping with saliva.

"Those eyes," he muttered, "they will be mine!"

Orochimaru surged forward with a horrible squelching noise, the masses of fleshing seeming to tear apart at their rolling seams as he pushed forward. He thrust his arm out, trying to grab at Sasuke's face. The snake was not prepared for what happened next.

It was subtle, at first. The barest hints of sluggishness coursing over the fleshy mass of his form. He seemed not to notice, but it had not escaped Sasuke. He had remained calm through the entire ordeal, preparing to weave a genjutsu that would break this place. But understanding coursed through him as small crystalline flecks began to appear on Orochimaru's body. Sasuke looked down and let out a single chuckle. She truly was remarkable.

It took a short few moments for Orochimaru to realize that something was wrong. His single eye grew in surprise as the sluggishness spread throughout his body, arm becoming stiff and rigid. It was with great surprise that he looked down to find that flecks of crystals had become full growths. Brilliant pink, they jutted out from his body at seemingly random angles, and yet formed interlocking plates as they grew. He pushed himself harder, crystals cracking under the strain but growing back at an even greater pace.

And then, he lost control of his own world.

Crystal spires, almost twice as tall as a man, grew at random locations as far as the eye cold see, even off into the dim distance barely visible even to Sasuke's enhanced vision. They twisted as they grew up from the fleshy mass, each one distinct and unique from any other. From where they grew the land began to shift and change, rolling hills of bleeding muscle transforming into solid planes of rigid, pink crystal. Chaos was becoming order; the crystals were bringing control to this wild dimension.

"What? Impossible! This is my world! Mine!" Orochimaru shouted, jerking against the binding crystals. This time they gave up nothing, holding him tightly to him. This did little to stop his spasmodic jerking and attempts to free himself.

Sasuke said nothing as the crystals began to grow on his own body. They grew more conservatively, directed to care by some unknown force. Or perhaps not so unknown. He saw it clear as day, and marveled at the irony of wild emotion lending order to the land. With a sharp jerk of his own he wrenched his arms free of the crystal growths, and they began to shatter one after the other, collapsing into thousands of microscopic slivers, just as they were intended to do. Sasuke stood tall, staring down an increasingly encased Orochimaru with a grin of pure amusement. Orochimaru was not so happy, clever mind working out just what was happening all the while.

"That girl? That damnable girl! How dare she intrude here? How? I gave her power, she was nothing without me, and she does this? That little bitc-URK."

Amusement had left Sasuke's eyes, replaced with anger. The seal mark on his neck flared, growing out ever so slightly but struggling to drift past his shoulder blade. He moved like lightning, black-hilted chokutou piercing through Orochimaru's exposed throat without a sound.

"I doubt this will kill you, if any of this is truly real, and even if it wasn't. You're good at surviving, if nothing else. Let's make something very clear. You know nothing of strength. Your pride has gotten so large that it has blinded you. You can't even see the truth right in front of your eyes. Perhaps it can be forgiven, as there was a time when I missed it too. You did not give her strength, you revealed it in her." he said, twisting the blade ever so slightly. Foul blood bubbled from the wound.

"I know what you did, and if you were not so prideful you'd have remembered it. That infusion would have killed her if she wasn't strong enough. It would have destroyed her from the inside out. But it didn't. She conquered it, mastered it. The strength was her own, she simply used you to unlock it.

"How does it feel? To be used? Played like a piece in a game? You saw yourself as the player, but you were nothing but a piece, a pawn. To be played by an Uchiha is one thing, it's to be expected, thus is the power of the bearer of these eyes. But I did not even need these eyes against you, because you were played by another. And you'll stay here, forever, used like you tried to use me. I can think of no better end for an inhuman thing like you."

Sasuke jerked the sword back, splashing crimson on the pink crystalline ground. He sheathed his sword in a quick and practiced motion. And then he was gone, leaving a caged snake to thrash vainly at his bindings.

* * *

Sasuke felt her arms around him long before he felt anything else, held tightly around his waist. He felt tears next, wet against his back, soaking into the fabric of his loose tunic. Sakura was holding onto him for dear life, refusing to let go for anything. She hadn't even realized what she'd done, a fact that brought an amused smile to the Uchha's face. So full of surprises, Sakura constantly startled him with her growth.

The air was thick and stank of an alien toxin; the fluids of the snake, Sasuke realized. The poison had become inert, but the smell still hung in the air, a foul reminder. Sound returned to him next, two particular ones reaching his keen senses. First was a low sizzle, and Sasuke realized that it was Orochimaru's monstrous body bubbling away. Without his presence to balance it out, the foulness combinations of whatever medicines and concoctions ran through his veins was losing stability.

Sobbing was the second sound, mixed with low pleading. Sasuke found that sound unbearable, and made moves to stop it. He twisted, breaking her hold. Despite herself, Sakura leaped back eyes wide with worry.

"Which one are you?" she asked in a soft voice. Fear crept into her eyes as he turned to face her fully, arms still loose at his side but a grin that could have meant anything on his face. She stood in defense for what seemed like minutes, though it could not have been but seconds. And then he smiled.

"Sakura." Sasuke said, and smiled in a way that only she had seen for so very long. She threw herself at him, holding on even tighter than before, more then certain that it was her Sasuke that still remained.

* * *

Yori watched from the trees with barely contained disgust. His stomach was queezy from the vile sounds that escaped the house, screams of unholy pain and terror, snaps and twists that seemed to echo through the cold night air. He felt the Other inside of him struggle at the sounds, enticed by the pain and suffering. Yori pushed back against it, focusing inward to control the spawn, something had become more and more adept with over time. Still, he acknowledged his mistake in making the compact with something he could barely understand. That was why he had joined Akatsuki in the first place.

Neither he nor Katsura were truly alive anymore, a fact that had played to their advantage; Konoha ninja, ANBU of some quality, had been on their tail for some time now, but they were hardly ready to make a move. Or, perhaps more accurately, the leader had not deemed them ready, despite their own objections. They were to remain in the Land of Fire until contacted, a fact that had the junior members somewhat put off. Still, they knew better then to upset Pain.

The former Hoshi-nin looked up from his perch. He had taken refuge in the forest outside of this isolated farming community, close enough to his partner without being too close to said partner's disgusting hunger and the foul things he did to satiate it. Usually Yori didn't mind when he went off to get his fill; everyone had their vices. Katsura was even moderately courteous about it; he used genjutsu to cloak his true form and got a modicum of consent from his victims, even if they might have been less agreeable had they know they'd be left a soulless husk when he was done. But the junior Akatsuki had been hiding for two weeks now, using the fact they were not truly alive to remain utterly off the radar and lose the ANBU team that had been trailing them.

Hidden for that long, Katsura's urges had grown ravenous. As soon as they'd realized that they were in the clear the getsugakure missing-nin had launched himself out into a wild hunt. This was the third such isolated hamlet they'd come upon in two days. Kat-san left drained husks and violated bodies in his wake, not even bothering with the usual genjutsu to make it somewhat less horrible on those he preyed upon. It was monstrous.

Yori remembered that he too was monstrous in his own way, with that strange thing writhing inside of him. He had been a young fool to think that he could control it, but such was youthful hubris. True, it had granted him power, immortality even, but at a cost he hadn't even begun to understand; he was changing. Sometimes he felt like his skin was just a shell, and what writhed beneath had consumed him entirely. He focused himself, feeling the shards of the mysterious 'star' meteor of Hoshigakure that he'd recovered. They were embedded in his body, and feeling them brought his sanity back ever so slightly. He remembered his goal; he would help Akatsuki, help Pain, and in return, Pain would remove this foul thing from his body. He didn't care if he died in the process, he simply didn't want it to consume him.

He wondered what it was Katsura was after; he was long passed being human, just as Yori had left humanity behind. But Katsura, he had embraced this state, thrived on it. Where Yori had made a choice, foolish though it was, Yori's very pride had turned him into his current state. Yori knew little of his partner's origin; Katsura was from the Land of the Moon, he knew, and it's ninja village of Getsugakure no Sato. And, he knew, it was in Konoha, only a few years ago, that Katsura had 'died' for the first time. At a Chuunin exam, no less, not an utterly surprising turn of events. But, he had come back as something else.

Yori spun on his heels. His hands flew through seals of alien origin, crudely imitated by his human fingers. Growths, like an array of massive purple feathers, grew from his back. Whispering strange words, he threw his arm out, letting a purple tentacle of corporeal chakra lash out into the darkness of the night. He heard a squelch as the tentacle impacted with something fleshy, and with a sharp jerk he yanked what he'd caught out from it's hiding place behind a tree.

It was a boy. Perhaps ten or twelve years old, clutching a crude kunai in one hand, looking as though he'd made it himself from an old gardening tool, a farm child's plaything. His hair was sandy blond, skin tanned from work in the family fields, and eyes of subtle green. The tentacle had shot through his lower torso, and blood sizzled around the foul chakra of the tentacle. Yori simply sighed.

"You foolish boy. Now you've gone and got yourself killed," he said, shaking his head. The boy seemed too shocked to even cry out, pain blocking out any attempts he might have had. He shivered and shook, and then soiled himself in fear. The chakra tentacle wriggled in his gut, wallowing in his pain. Yori tried to yank it back, realizing that the Other was trying to exert it's will over the length of chakra. And, distracted by what he thought was a more pressing threat, he did not notice the kunai speeding towards him. In one final act of defiance before he died, the boy had thrown the weapon as hard as he could. It was clumsy and weak, hardly a flesh wound, but Yori recoiled as if he'd been struck by something ten-times it's force.

With a disgusting slurp, the writhing chakra tentacle disappeared, hand that had manifested it flying to his wounded shoulder. He yanked the crude weapon out and tossed it aside, hand applying pressure to the wound. It bled, ever so slightly, around the two edges of what seemed to be an impossibly clean and straight wound for a weapon so basic. He felt something move under the skin. His hand fell back on reflex, eyes growing wide in horror as the wound opened up to reveal an eye of it's own. It jerked around, and then locked it's gaze with Yori, streams of blood running from it's edges like tears.

The Hoshi-nin scrambled to focus himself and suppress the Other. And then, suddenly, the wound closed up again. Yori stared at the spot for some time, heart beat rapid as he waited for some new horror to take place. A minute passed, then five. He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and relaxed. That had been far closer than he'd cared to imagine.

He fell back out of the tree as the wound opened up again, this time a tooth-filled maw, and let out an alien roar, cluster of string-like tongues lashing the air. Yori focused everything he had into the wound, channeling all he could to suppress the spawn before it grew bolder, ignoring the pain as he hit the ground.

It took ten minutes for him to wrestle the thing back under control. He forced it back down into it's pit, channeling chakra into the seal surrounding it. Soon. He needed to prove himself soon, and get this damnable mistake removed. Soon. Before it was too late.

'Hurry hurry,' he thought with a painful urgency, face full of worry. Yori turned towards the house where his partner was still gorging himself on his foul vices, 'Haven't got the time. Not enough time at all...'

* * *

Kaoru shivered in the corner, back pressed firmly against the wall as she watched with wide-eyed horror. She should look away, she knew, but she found it impossible. And so she watched, unable to tear her eyes way, room lit up by the unnatural light that streamed from her mother's face, pouring and flowing from her mouth and eyes. Her body was broken and spent, used in unspeakable ways. She could not tear her eyes away. She knew she needed to, but she could not, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't close them either, fear keeping them bright and wide.

It had appeared out of nowhere, a spectre of the night that had broken down a door without warning or preamble. It was fast; the fastest thing she'd ever seen in her young life, though had she a more coherent mind she might have realized that she hadn't seen much at all in her life as a farm girl, and likely lamented it about it in the way people of her age were want to do. But, as it was, she was simply terrified, shocked, and silent, both in mind and mouth. So, she instead pushed herself harder against the wall and wet herself.

Katsura continued to drain away the woman's essence. He tore her soul to shreds, letting it fill his stiff bones with new, a bet stolen, life. He had gorged himself upon this stolen bounty, relishing in the limber memories it brought back to him, and the carnal cravings he had indulged upon his helpless prey. They had been a large family once, three generations living in the remote farmland, but even their life of toil could not have prepared them for Katsura's foul attentions. They were all dead now, save for the last girl that huddled in the corner, scared out of sanity or reason.

The former getsu-nin stared down into the withered face of the ravaged woman, drained completely of life, with a sudden disdain. It's dead eyes stared into him, the lines of age and death taunting him with their personal impossibility. This bitch had died, embraced that cold final moment, and he would never be able to do it, not now or ever. With a burst of unholy anger, Katsura tossed the body aside, shattering a wooden table into splinters as the body impacted and snapped at the spine. He stared at the broken form, fuming.

For the briefest of moments he saw his old teammates in the shattered form of the woman's body. It had been almost four years ago that he'd become the monster he was now. He had gone to Konoha for the Chuunin exams expecting to be the best there; no, not expecting, knowing. Katsura was strong and fast and beautiful, and he knew it. His teammates knew it, and he was aghast that other people refused to acknowledge it. He had, as expected, passed the first exam without much trouble. The blond haired idiot had drawn quite a bit of attention, he remembered, even if he wasn't entirely sure why that stuck out in his mind.

But that forest. That damned forest. Katsura was not prepared for that, he could now admit. Prideful though he was, even Katsura had to admit the plain truth of that fact. He had, after all, died there. His team had split up to find a target and scout the area. Katsura had let his guard down for just a moment, but that was enough to end his life. Sometimes, Katsura found it strange that he was unable to remember what it was that killed him; death had come so quickly. He expected to remember something so key, but instead he could only remember that dark abyss that he found himself in. He felt himself slip away from the mortal coil, and at that moment something broke inside of him.

Pride brought him back. He would not die this way. He could not die that way! Such a thing was unthinkable for him. Katsura's sheer bloody foolish pride had tethered his soul to his broken body. When he awoke, he attacked the nearest thing in mad frenzy, trying to satiate a sudden hunger that welled up inside. Clarity came after, and with that clarity came the realization that he'd slain his two teammates, ravaged their bodies, and stolen their souls. But, for the briefest moment, he felt so very much alive.

Katsura stared down at the broken form, anger subsiding as he felt the stolen life pulse within him. But it was a fleeting thing, and he felt it ebb, ever so slightly, even as he stood. It lasted shorter and shorter each time, and he knew it would be gone, and the hunger would return once more, the longing for that warmth of life.

He turned his head to the girl who huddled in the corner, still shocked dumb with fear. Katsura smiled. She was a pretty one, for a farm girl. He would take this one slower.

* * *

Sakura added another item to the list of reasons she had to loath Orochimaru as she leaped from tree to tree. So long spent underground, hidden away from the sun and trees, that it felt almost unnatural to be outside, in a way. It felt like a return, but one of peculiar unease; her senses felt dulled in the open, overwhelmed by the vibrancy of the world. She tried to shut it out a bit, focusing on simply following Sasuke-kun as he leaped ahead of her, heading to whatever destination he'd chosen for them. It was easier then, focusing on him. Still, she knew she would have to overcome this raw feeling sooner or later if she was to be useful, something she was quite determined to be.

She turned herself outward, taking in information as she kept pace with Sasuke. The trees here were vibrant, but were not of the kind most commonly found in the Land of Fire, nor the Land of Lightning or Stone. Her academic mind went to work, pulling out the details of the various species. It was a good mental exercise, and she found that it was helping get over that crushing awkwardness of the wide-open spaces, much to her delight. She didn't notice, however, that even while she thought, not once did she slip or fall behind her partner, and indeed closed the small gap that had formed earlier.

It wasn't until she'd figured out that they were in the Land of Rivers that she realized just how close she'd gotten to Sasuke; she was leaping next to him, a fact that he betrayed no surprise at. Despite their proximity, she found it still easy to follow his lead, and was admittedly giddy as to this revelation. It was intuitive, she realized: she was reading his intent before he made a move and following without a second thought. It was a level of synchronization she had not consciously realized they achieved. It wasn't until Sasuke gave her a subtle grin that she knew he'd realized it was well, and was pleased.

He pushed himself harder, and so she responded in kind, throwing herself into a feverish pace to keep up. She never fell behind.

They traveled in silence mostly, neither party having truly much to talk about at the moment. Eventually, however, Sakura's curiosity got the better of her; she knew a few of the prospective 'recruits' that Sasuke had mentioned picking up were being held in facilities around this region, but was less knowledgeable able to the extent of Orochimaru's operation. She hadn't, after all, functioned as one of his lieutenants as Sasuke had.

"Who is it we're going to get, Sasuke-kun?" she asked suddenly, though Sasuke hardly seemed to be surprised by the question; he almost seemed to have been expecting him. He grinned as he replied.

"Another one of Orochimaru's favorite experiments, and one with almost as much of a grudge against as us." he said, slowing his pace slightly as he spoke.

"Suigetsu Houzuki." he finished after a moment, recognition appearing on Sakura's face as he did. She did remember him, ever so slightly. Still, she wondered what he had that was so special to make Sasuke choose him.

She shrugged off the thought, knowing she'd find out soon. Besides, Sasuke had his reasons, and she'd no reason to question them. She trusted him, and she'd follow him anywhere.

* * *

**Author Note:**

Been busy, and unmotivated, so they chapter has been sitting on my computer half done for quite awhile. Figured I'd get it out of the door, and bring back a pair of very important characters, give a bit of their history and whatnot. Expect a few other loose ends from part 1 to get tied, and we'll be thrown into the thick of things.

To those who also follow Naruto-Sensei, I promise a chapter to that soon. I'll be shipping off to Basic Training in a few weeks, likely, but hopefully I can get one out before that. It's also about half done, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to write.


	21. Interlude: Desperate

Naruto swung the shakujou up to intercept Sasuke's blade, knocking away his old comrades' chokutou with a practiced motion. Sasuke stumbled back, letting Naruto ready himself for a follow up. Spinning on his heel, he turned and thrust out his left hand, watching as a wave of force lifted Sasuke up and sent him flying back. The Uchiha doubled over, but disappeared without a sign moments before he impacted the side of the canyon wall. Naruto swung his weapon back into defensive form, turning a full hundred and eighty degrees to intercept yet another blow. He grit his teeth while Sasuke grinned.

They had changed. Naruto stood tall, cloaked in a flowing white robe marked with a blue sunburst along its trim, a robe of the Hakubo. Underneath it he wore a set of armor of brilliant blue styled after that of the second hokage, Tobirama Senju. In his hands he held a shakujou, a staff traditionally used by monks, topped with a circle that held rings of various numbers. In Naruto's case, this was a set of six rings. Not a surprising number, given that this staff had once belonged to the Sage of Six Paths himself, as had the six-jeweled necklace, similar to the one once given to him by Tsunade. They were relics of an ancient time.

Sasuke's grin deepened. He too had changed. The black robe marked with white-trimmed red clouds, symbol of Akatsuki. Beneath that rested armor similar to that of a samurai, slimmed in places to allow for greater movement, based on that of one Madara Uchiha. He wore his sword's sheath much like he had before, tucked into a belt, this time kept under his robe, but still across his back. The sword itself, however, had changed. Much like Naruto's staff, it was a relic of the Sage of Six paths, and it was deadly adept at channeling the young Uchiha's chakra. The only truly out place item seemed to be a simple pink crystal that hung from an even simpler string around his neck. He still wore that old hitai-ite, scratched by Naruto himself in this same valley years ago.

The pair showed signs that they'd been fighting a war for some time now, both holding themselves with a martial bearing. Both had become leaders of men, legends on the battlefield that shifted very essence of history with their presence. They were two sides of the same coin, as similar as they were dissimilar. They locked eyes as they fought, Sasuke's black and red mangekyou sharingan locking with the black rings of Naruto's rinnegan. Such a look would have been the end of it for any normal fighter, locked into one of the deadly Uchiha genjutsu. But since the gift from one child of destiny to another, such moves became useless on Naruto.

Of course, as demonstrated not long before, Naruto's own abilities from his eye, the Shinra Tensei and Banshou Ten'in, amongst others, were a great aide to the young shinobi, but against one who had learned to break the barriers of time and space they were far less useful. Indeed, neither Naruto nor Sasuke could use the full extent of their abilities, simply because they would be useless against such an opponent. This came down to a physical fight, knock out and drag down to the last, gifts of doujutsu used for little more than positioning. How funny that even after all the power they'd gained and all their years of training, they still returned to the most simple and basic of abilities. It was a great irony.

"I'll hand it to you, loser. You've managed to turn yourself into something respectable." Sasuke said, causing Naruto to grin in return.

"Hah, like I need your approval, you bastard. Trying to throw me off, hmm?" replied Naruto, using the Shinra Tensei to enhance a push back from Sasuke. The pair shot away from each other, causing a violent spray of water behind the pair as they slid back on the surface of the river.

"In fact, maybe it's time to wipe that grin of your face!" the blond-haired boy shouted, forcing a blast of gravity downwards, causing a fifteen meter high tidal wave to explode outwards from him. Sasuke barely moved, simply slashing up with his weapon, slicing the wave in two as it neared him, cutting a path for it to flow around him with his chakra. He was now prepared, however, for the massive sphere of mud and rock that appeared from behind the wave. He launched himself forward, hand sparking as he took the shortest path and simply let the power of the chidori smash his way through the sphere. His other hand began to burn with a black flame that slowly crept up his arm and down along the hilt of the Sage's blade, forming an armor of black fire as it did, trailing off into a blazing scarf. Sasuke knew quite well what to expect on the other side.

Naruto had used the wave to reveal the ground under the river, and then torn a chunk of it up. But even that was a ruse; a distraction to cloak his true purpose. In truth, Naruto had used the time to gather the energy of the world around him and the power of the beast locked inside. Just as Sasuke had expected, he found Naruto waiting for him, radiating with the power of the Kyuubi locked inside and the Natural Energy taken from around him.

"Senpou: Shitai!" Naruto shouted, bringing the Sage's staff up into a combat stance as he did. His eyes had changed, cross forming in the center of his rinnegan rings, with a shroud of color surrounding his eyes as the white of them began to shift into a bleeding crimson. Red chakra began to form around him, bubbling and seething, and then suddenly began to change hue as green mixed in with it, forming into a brilliant yellow shield that began to climb up his body and grow out his back, forming one by one into a set of tails.

Sasuke touched down with the water again, causing it to sizzle and steam as the black flames of Amaterasu continued to grow around him, forming down his legs and over his face and chest. The Cursed Seal of Heaven began to radiate red, spreading its pattern across his body. His skin began to shift and change as the mark shifted into its second form, fire spreading across the wings that sprouted from his back. The fire spread across his entire body, undefined at first, but not for long. Slowly but surely it took form, similar to that of Susanoo, abet brought down to a far more personal scale.

"Enton," he began, bringing his sword up to his face as the black flames shot from the hilt to the length of the blade in record speed, being joined by arcing bolts of electrical power. This electrical power turned inward as well, jumping from the curves and spikes of the black flaming armor. The sound of a thousand flapping wings joined that of a legion of cackling devils, and he swung his sword down with a sudden flourish, "Hachiman!"

The pair stared each other down for a moment, water whipping around them. Hinata watched from a short distance away, hidden amongst the trees on the shoreline. Her body hurt, bleeding in some areas and sore in most. And then, right before the pair moved, she felt her consciousness begin to be dragged elsewhere.

* * *

They were all wearing black, clothes of mourning and sadness. Hinata could remember an event very much like this years past. Indeed, if not for spotting an elder Naruto than she would have thought she'd been pulled back to the day of the Sandaime Hokage's funeral. Naruto's brilliant blue eyes were wet with tears, but just as Hinata turned to see the icon of the deceased she felt the tug again, and was gone.

* * *

She floated into nothingness for a moment, instinctively searching for an anchor until a strange light pulled her down.

* * *

"How do you feel?" asked an orange masked man, gazing down at his handiwork as he did. Beneath his mask, his face curled into a self-congratulating smile. How easy this had been. Not simply the surgery, though that had gone as easy as one could expect. It was more than that, however; bringing Sasuke to this point that he'd ask for it was a victory in and of itself. Itachi's efforts to keep Madara from influencing Sasuke had proven to be for naught as the elder Uchiha sunk his claws deeper into the young revenge obsessed man.

"I feel… good. I can feel his power flowing through me." Sasuke said softly, though not quite as quickly or directly as the orange-masked Madara had expected. Curious. He suddenly looked up, eye catching something in the peripheral of his vision. Beneath his mask his face twisted into an amused grin, eye seeing beyond the veil for a moment.

"My, my… how interesting." He said softly, looking off into seemingly nothing. "The fox boy's pet has found a way through the veil as well. It seems the Uchiha aren't the only ones with secrets of the beyond."

Hinata felt a sudden wave of dread wash over her.

* * *

She shot up in her bed, eyes wide with terror. Swirling trigramatical patterns clouded her vision for a moment, and for the briefest of moments she saw into a distant place, one of geometrical prisms and utter separation from everything she felt and knew. And then, soon as they'd come, they were gone. She found herself drenched and panting in her bed for the second time. She simply sat for a moment, mind clouded with knowledge she shouldn't have, of people she never met and places she'd never been.

Of times that had not come.

* * *

**Author Note:**

I was putting the finishing touches on chapter 3 of part 2 when my PC's power supply decided to give up the ghost. Not wanting to just leave everything hanging, figured I'd write a short interlude to pass the time and give a bit more foreshadowing. Also lets me jump ahead to some very fun scenes to write.

Two notes here for language usage.

Senpou: Shitai is Sage Art: Four Noble Truths. It's a reference to a Buddhist concept, much like Pain's techniques, but in this case actually refers to the four separate sources of chakra that Naruto is balancing: physical, spiritual, natural, and beast.

Enton: Hachiman is not particularly directly translated. Enton is Blaze Release, the modification of the black flames. Hachiman is a tutelary god of warriors in Shinto and later merged with Buddhism to a degree. The technique draws upon the cursed seal on his neck, one he has established a high level of control over, as well as forming armor around his body and stimulating it with electricity similar to the Raikage A.


End file.
